UTEP Faculty Member Honored as Educator of the Year by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Last Updated on October 08, 2020 at 10:00 AM
Originally published October 08, 2020
By Christina Rodriguez
UTEP Communications
Adeeba A. Raheem, Ph.D., assistant professor of civil engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso, was named the recipient of the Educator of the Year Award in Higher Education for 2020 by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).
Each year, SHPE honors outstanding professionals for their dedication and commitment in supporting Hispanics in STEM careers with the SHPE Technical Achievement Recognition, or STAR, awards.
The STAR awards are major honors that recognize the contributions of SHPE members to the fields of science, technology and engineering. The 27 recipients of the 2020 STAR awards, which will be presented Oct. 26-30, 2020, during the Virtual SHPE National Convention, were selected from a field of 181 nominees that include top individuals and institutions in the industry, academia and government.
“It is an absolute honor to receive this prestigious award,” Raheem said. “I am so pleased and humbled to join such a remarkable and distinguished group of educators and professionals recognized by SHPE this year. This award is very special to me not only because it acknowledges my dedication toward my amazing students and wonderful El Paso community, but especially because it validates an increased recognition of the importance of diversity in engineering disciplines. I am so proud to be a part of such a resilient, diverse and supportive UTEP community that motivates me to be a better mentor and inspire my students to always dream big.”
The Educator of the Year award recognizes the exemplary contributions made by administrators and faculty to improve the learning environment for Hispanic students in K-12 and higher education who have demonstrated concerted efforts to increase the persistence rate of Latinx students in STEM disciplines.
“One of the many reasons that Dr. Adeeba A. Raheem was selected as SHPE’s Educator of the Year – higher education is her passion, creativity and commitment to making education accessible to students, in particular, her role at building out the online graduate program at The University of Texas at El Paso,” said Emily L. Allen, Ph.D., dean at California State University, Los Angeles and SHPE member of the national board of directors.
“The online graduate program offered through the Extended University is one of the fastest-growing online programs at UTEP, and the online master's program in Construction Management has been recognized as one of the ‘Top Construction Management Degree Programs’ in the nation. An educator making an impact like Dr. Raheem has is exactly what the SHPE Star Awards are all about.”
Upon receiving her doctorate in construction management from the University of Florida in 2014, Raheem joined UTEP as a faculty member with the Department of Civil Engineering. She holds multiple master’s degrees in building construction, environmental engineering, and civil engineering. Raheem is an invited member of the President’s Advisory Committee on Campus Sustainability at UTEP. She has also been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and has served on multiple review committees.
Raheem has been a merit reviewer for various professional organizations such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Technology Commercialization Fund, DOE-NE's Consolidated Innovative Research-Construction Group, and Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education. She boasts a research portfolio of more than $2 million with projects funded by various U.S. federal agencies and nonprofits such as the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of State, U.S. National Science Foundation and VentureWell.
Raheem’s research interests include construction safety, construction management, sustainable construction, and sustainable cities. She has presented her research at various well-reputed national and international platforms and is a scientific reviewer for more than 15 journals with high impact factors. She is an Envision Sustainability Professional, a certified associate member of the Design-Build Institute of America and OSHA certified Master Trainer.
For many years, Raheem has been mentoring UTEP students and encouraging them to attend SHPE National Conventions. During the SHPE National Convention in Phoenix in 2019, she formally joined the organization.
Formed in 1974, SHPE is comprised of a national network of 375 college and university chapters and serves more than 11,000 members. SHPE’s mission is to change lives by empowering the Hispanic community to realize its fullest potential and to impact the world through STEM awareness, access, support and development.
