Dr. Lizabeth (Schlemer) Thompson - Faculty

Office: 13-263A

Phone: 805-756-2183

Email: lschleme@calpoly.edu

Biography

Dr. Lizabeth Thompson is the Director of General Engineering and a professor in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. She holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, SLO, a MS in Industrial and Systems Engineering and an MBA from University of Southern California, and a PhD in Education from University of California, Santa Barbara. She has been at Cal Poly for 30 years and has held various positions on campus including Acting Department Chair of both Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering and Materials engineering, Co-Director of Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies, Director of Women’s Engineering Programs, and CENG Interim Associate Dean. Although she has taught over 25 different courses, she currently teaches Financial Decision making, First Year engineering, Senior Project, and Change Management. Her research is in Engineering Education where she has received $11.8 million of funding from NSF as either PI or Co-PI. She researches equitable classroom practices, integrated learning, and institutional change. She spent the 2019-2020 academic year at Cal State LA where she taught and collaborated on research related to equity and social justice. With her colleagues at Cal State LA, she received an NSF grant called Eco-STEM which aims to transform STEM education using an asset-based ecosystem model. She is also a Co-PI on an NSF S-STEM grant called ENGAGE which is working to make a more robust transfer pathway for local community college students. Dr. Thompson is a Co-PI on an NSF ADVANCE grant called KIND with other universities within the CSU. With her colleagues in Computer Engineering, they have been awarded an NSF RED grant call Breaking the Binary, and is the PI on a I-Corps grant with students. She is a co-advisor to Engineers without Borders, Critical Global Engagement, and oSTEM (out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) at Cal Poly.

Research Interests

Equitable classroom practices
Critical reflective dialog
Institutional change
Social technical integration
Change management 

Office Hours

Office hours held in person in 13-263A & on Zoom

DAYTIMES
Monday 4:30pm – 5:30pm (Zoom)
Tuesday12:00pm – 2:00pm 
Wednesday 
Thursday 12:00pm – 2:00pm 
Friday