Academy of Distinguished Alumni
Lorraine N. Fleming Ph.D., P.E.
Inducted to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni on
Lorraine Fleming received her Ph.D. degree (1985) in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, with an emphasis in geotechnical engineering. She received her B.S. degree (1979) in CE from Howard University, and M.S. (1980) also in CE from the George Washington University. Following graduation, Dr. Fleming joined the faculty at Howard University where she was promoted to Professor in 1996 and has progressively assumed important leadership positions, including serving as the Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering (1994-2000), and Interim Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Computer Sciences (2013-2016).
Dr. Fleming is currently the Executive Director and Principal Investigator of the Howard STEM Education Research Center. Dr. Fleming’s scholarship and research are at the forefront of the emerging interdisciplinary field of engineering education research. Her research team of engineers, scientists, and social scientists explores issues of persistence, diversity, and global preparedness on the education of engineers and scientists. She has published over 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals and conference proceedings and has been awarded over $15M in research funding over the past 10 years. Throughout her career she has been active professionally serving, among others, as an ASCE Program Evaluator (1999-2012) reviewing domestic and international civil engineering degree programs for compliance, as an Evaluation Visiting Team Member, Middle States Commission on Higher Education (2008 to present) and is currently the Vice-Chair of Operations and member of the Executive Committee of the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission.
Dr. Fleming's professional contributions have been recognized through a number of awards and recognitions, including: the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) from President Obama (2015), the Champion Award, Engineer of the Year Award from the District of Columbia Society of Professional Engineers (2014), the Centennial Career Achievement Award from the College of Engineering, Architecture & Computer Science at Howard University (2012), Howard University Faculty Senate Award for Exemplary Mentoring (2011), and Engineering Educator of the Year—Golden Torch Award, from the National Society of Black Engineers (2008).
Dr. Fleming has been an active participant in Cal Alumni Association, and she is a member of the UC Berkeley Black Engineering and Science Alumni Club (BESAC). She was a speaker at the first symposium of the Black Graduate Engineering and Science Students (BGESS)’s meeting in 1987, and was a featured program speaker at the BESAC-BGESS 50/30 Anniversary reunion in 2018. Most recently, she was honored as one of the trail blazers in the 150 Years of Women (https://150w.berkeley.edu/lorraine-fleming) at Berkeley celebration.