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At her retirement send-off in December, Professor Deborah Goodings reflected on her time at George Mason University, spoke of life-changing events, and said, more than anything else, that education changes lives. If that is the case, Goodings has changed many lives at George Mason and beyond through a lengthy career and steadfast involvement with engineering education.
Goodings’s tenure at the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) began in 2009 as chair of the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering (CEIE) and the endowed Dewberry Chair in Civil Engineering. As department chair, she grew the faculty by 50 percent; updated the undergraduate and graduate curricula; raised funds for a new undergraduate teaching laboratory, an endowed chair, and student fellowships; and strengthened engagement with the department’s board of industry advisors, which today is a signature strength of the department.
Between 2015 and 2018 an Intergovernmental Personnel Act assignment led her to serve as a member of the Senior Management Team for the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Directorate as Director of the Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Directorate. In that role, she advocated for U.S. university research and education in engineering through both direct awards and support of shared national facilities, with broader impacts leading to breakthroughs that advanced the nation’s health, economy, sustainability and resilience. She leveraged the experience when she returned to the CEC and created a seminar series on research portfolio development for incoming CEC faculty.
In 2018, she became associate dean of graduate affairs at CEC and made significant educational contributions. She oversaw graduate education during a period of tremendous growth in the CEC graduate student population while providing proactive supervision, guidance, and accountability for CEC graduate education, including its intersection with research and administration. At the same time, she was involved in graduate education initiatives across the university, often working with other colleges and university administrative offices to advance the university’s broader goals in research, education, and administrative vitality. Her exemplary service to Mason earned her the Dewberry Professor Emerita of Civil, Infrastructure, and Environmental Engineering.
Upon retirement, Goodings will continue serving on American Society for Civil Engineering committees on workforce development and engineering education. Though she said, “I’m turning to non-university, non-engineering interests.” No doubt through these interests, she will continue changing lives through the power of education.