Columbia Engineering has announced that Christine Hendon, associate professor of electrical engineering, will assume the new role of vice dean of diversity and strategic partnerships, effective July 1, 2023. A role model and champion for diversity and inclusion, Hendon will lead critical initiatives within the School’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) while also building strategic research and education partnerships with other institutions, focusing on intentional engagement with HBCUs and MSIs, said Dean Shih-Fu Chang in a statement on June 27.
A faculty member since 2012, Hendon is a recognized leader in the development and application of novel functional imaging modalities for cardiac electrophysiology and women’s health. She received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2017, was elected to the College of Fellows for American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2020, and became both a SPIE fellow and an Optical Society Fellow in 2021.
Hendon has led a number of DEI initiatives within the Department of Electrical Engineering, including dramatically re-organizing the graduate admissions program to expand the diversity of the student pool by creating a well-regarded pre-recruiting program for prospective students. Hendon also was a member of the Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and co-chaired the Student Recruitment, Pipeline, and Retention sub-committee. She has served on the admissions committee for the impactful Columbia-Amazon Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program, and as a mentor for multiple SURE fellows.
At the University level, Hendon was a member of the Anti-Bullying Commission. At the 2022 University Commencement, she was honored with the Faculty Service Award by President Lee C. Bollinger.
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