Joys and Challenges of Leadership in Higher Education with Karen Panetta

Speaker bios:

Karen Panetta received the B.S. degree in computer engineering from Boston University, Boston, MA, USA, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Northeastern University, Boston. She is currently the Dean of graduate engineering education and a Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA. She also holds secondary appointments in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering. She is the Director of the Panetta Vision and Sensing System Laboratory. Her research interests include developing efficient algorithms for Artificial Intelligence, simulation, modeling, signal, and image processing for biomedical, security and conservation applications. She was a recipient of the 2023 IEEE-HKN Asad M. Madni award for Outstanding Technical Leadership and Excellence, the 2012 IEEE Ethical Practices Award and the Harriet B. Rigas Award for Outstanding Educator. In 2011, she was awarded the Presidential Award for Engineering and Science Education and Mentoring by U.S. President Obama for her Nerd Girls Program to empower young women in STEM. She was the Vice President of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society. Karen was the 2019 President of IEEE-HKN (Eta Kappa Nu) honor society and 2021 2022 IEEE Awards Board Chair. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the award winning IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine. She was the IEEE-USA Vice President of communications and public affairs. From 2007 to 2009, she served as the Worldwide Director for the IEEE Women in Engineering, overseeing the world’s largest professional organization supporting women in engineering and science. Karen is the CEO and Co founder of Tessera Intelligence Inc., Co-founder of Sea Deep Inc. and Co-inventor of the first Digital Twin. She is a Fellow of NAI, IEEE, AAIA, NASA JOVE and AAAS and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Monroe France is the inaugural Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence Tufts University and a professor of practice at the Jonathan Tisch College of Civic Life. Previously, Monroe served as the Senior Associate Vice President for Global Engagement and Inclusive Leadership in the Office of Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Strategic Innovation at New York University (NYU). Monroe’s career at NYU spanned nearly 20 years and he has more than 25 years of progressive experience in higher education, non-profits, corporate sectors, arts & creative industries, as well as social responsibility, humanitarian, & philanthropy initiatives as an educator, professor, professional trainer, consultant, strategist, and keynote presenter.

As the inaugural Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence Monroe France works with university leaders to expand and look holistically at Tufts’ strategy to advance institutional inclusive excellence to include the full spectrum of ethnicities, national origins, ages, sexual orientations, gender identities, beliefs, religions and faiths, cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, neurotypes, and abilities.

Monroe announced that he will be stepping down from his position as Vice Provost for Institutional Inclusive Excellence at Tufts on the 29th of May 2025 but will remain a professor of practice at Tisch College for the foreseeable future.