Our Members

Dr. Marlena Lester

A/P Faculty Representative

Dr. Lester is the Director of Advising for the College of Engineering and is responsible for the operational leadership for developing, implementing, and evaluating programming to support undergraduate engineering students. This includes oversight of new student orientation, welcome week, and major and career exploration at the college level. The position will strategically support advising activities in the College of Engineering, including identifying opportunities for development; acting as a liaison with university advising initiatives; coordinating with the COE Director of Enrollment Management to design student support actions to enhance retention, time to graduation, and major selection; and advocating for advising.

Marlena received her PhD from Virginia Tech with her research focused on Understanding Academic Advising at Institutions with a First-Year Engineering Program.