BLACKSBURG, Va., March 20, 2003 – Bevlee Watford, associate dean for academic affairs in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, has been elected president-elect of the Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network (WEPAN).
A non-profit educational organization founded in 1990, WEPAN has a membership of more than 600 and is led by a board of directors from academia and industry. The organization's mission is to enhance the success of women in the engineering profession. Watford will begin her term as president in July 2004.
Watford's leadership has been recognized with numerous honors, including Virginia Tech's Affirmative Action Award for improving the campus environment for minority and women students; the Charles A. Tunstall Outstanding Minority Engineering Program Award from the National Society for Black Engineers for her significant contributions to the success of African-American students at Virginia Tech; and the national 2002 Black Engineer of the Year Award/College Level Educator, presented by the Council of Engineering Deans of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Lockheed Martin Corp., and USBE and Information Technology magazine.