2022 Faculty Outstanding Postdoctoral Service Award
Monica Cox, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Engineering, College of Engineering
Dr. Cox is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at The Ohio State University College of Engineering. Her research is focused upon the use of mixed methodologies to explore significant research questions in undergraduate, graduate, and professional engineering education, to integrate concepts from higher education and learning science into engineering education, and to develop and disseminate reliable and valid assessment tools for use across the engineering education continuum. She has led and collaborated on multidisciplinary projects totaling approximately $15 million, and she has authored over 130 publications.
She was the Inaugural Chair of the Department of Engineering Education. There, she navigated an often turbulent environment, which led to the creation of her Stop Playing Diversity brand, which offers resources for people and organizations that want to move beyond performative allyship. No stranger to conflict, Dr. Cox transformed the fabric of the department and the larger organization as an advocate for people and women of color. She grew up an only child in a rural southeast Alabama community, where she was raised by her educator parents to persist in the face of personal and professional adversity. Her inquisitive nature contributes to her passion for educating others and sharing what she has learned via her experiences.
Dr. Cox has worked with Dr. Ayanna Howard, dean of the College of Engineering, over the 2021-2022 academic year to establish the LEGACY Postdoctoral Program, which has the goal of preparing and diversifying the next generation of engineering leaders in academia. Her efforts included recruiting, hiring, and mentoring a cohort of postdoctoral scholars from diverse backgrounds and ensuring that they have an inclusive research and teaching environment during their time at Ohio State so that they can develop the skills, experiences, and professional colleague networks needed to become independent investigators and leaders in their respective disciplines. Her devotion to these scholars on an individual and cohort level speaks to her passion and commitment to mentorship and service across the postdoctoral community at Ohio State. Her cohort-wide mentorship and service efforts were the catalyst to OPA creating this new award. To read more about her efforts with the LEGACY program, please visit the program’s website here.