Black History Month: February
In the College of Engineering, all are welcome. To better share the stories of how our faculty, staff, students and alumni are diverse in their many varying forms, we are celebrating various heritage and other nationally recognized months. This recognition will include stories about those in our greater engineering community, as well as sharing events and other opportunities.
Alisa Gilmore
Associate Professor of Practice
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Q: Describe a bit about your personal and/or professional background.
A: I am from a small, predominately African American town in north Louisiana and growing up, family was a central part of life. My family relocated to Birmingham, Alabama and I went on to attend college in nearby Atlanta, Georgia, matriculating from Spelman College (a historically black women's liberal arts college) and the Georgia Institute of Technology. My degrees are in mathematics and electrical and computer engineering. As a college student, I had the privilege of learning from some of the most gifted scientists in the country, interning for several summers at AT&T Bell Labs (the birthplace of the transistor). After college, I spent my early career years as a control systems engineer in a business that manufactured telecommunications equipment, including high speed Ethernet cable. My experiences in business and growing up have a common theme of fascination with how and why things work and adding my creativity and ideas to make them better!
Q: What is your role in the College of Engineering – and what do you enjoy (love!) about what you are doing?
A: I am an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and I love what I do. I think work should be fun and challenging, and my 18 years in the college have been both. As a teaching faculty, my primarily responsibility is teaching. I have enjoyed teaching courses in telecommunications engineering, circuits, control systems, and robotics. However, my work has grown to encompass much more. I lead efforts to strengthen and facilitate program assessment (which means making sure students are gaining the skills we expect them to) in my department and at the college level. I also chair the Continuous Improvement of Teaching and Learning committee, a dynamic group of faculty from across the college who are committed to leading student learning and success efforts, and I enjoy learning about and implementing research-based instructional practices in my courses and researching and writing about their impact.
Q: Why is it important to celebrate one’s heritage? Why is it meaningful to you and your family? Is there a specific example/event/tradition of how you showcase or celebrate your heritage in its many forms?
A: Understanding one's heritage is important because it strengthens the foundation of one's personhood. My grandparents and extended family gave me a positive projection of who I was meant to be from a very early age, one that was not reflected in media, or in the general public. It is important to remember and honor the work, life and sacrifices of those who came before me and built bridges to the opportunities I have. Each February, Black History Month provides one opportunity to pause and reflect more broadly upon the achievements of all African Americans, too many of which have been suppressed or undocumented. Each year, I am still learning something new!
Q: How do you bring your own unique background to your role/responsibilities in the college or your professional life?
A: As a student on the campus of a historically black college (HBCU), we were often admonished with the statement "to whom much is given, much is required". A highlight of my time in the college has been spent giving back by serving as the director of the annual K-12 outreach, the Nebraska Robotics Expo. We have served thousands of students over the past twelve years, and have recently increased the number of underrepresented students and girls as we aim to make STEM accessible and exciting to all Nebraska youth through robotics. In recent years, it has been particularly fulfilling to see a steady stream of our former participants enter our programs as freshmen!
Q: What advice or words of wisdom could you share with others in our engineering community (staff, faculty, students, alums)?
A: During your time as a student, hone your technical skills, but do not forget to develop your whole person. Technical skills will get you into the door, but it is the professional and personal skills that will sustain and advance you. Take advantage of the Complete Engineer competencies. These will serve you well throughout life. It is no longer viable for engineers to be one-dimensional technicians. Become well rounded so that you can address the complex issues of the present and future with social insight, inclusiveness, and effectiveness.
