Lisa R. Lattuca

Lisa R. Lattuca is a Professor in the Marsal Family School of Education and the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan, where she also serves as Director of the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education. She holds a core faculty appointment in the Engineering Education Research doctoral program. Her administrative roles include prior positions as assistant dean for enrollment management, director of marketing, and assistant director of communications.

Dr. Lattuca earned her PhD from the University of Michigan, a Master’s from Cornell University, and a Bachelor’s from Saint Peter’s University. She previously held faculty positions at Penn State University (University Park) and Loyola University Chicago, and served as a program officer at the Spencer Foundation.

Her research focuses on curriculum design, interdisciplinary teaching, and equitable learning experiences in higher education. Key areas include the development of engineers’ systems thinking competencies, sociotechnical integration in engineering education, and faculty decision-making processes around curricular reforms. She employs systems perspectives to study how disciplinary cultures and organizational structures influence teaching practices and student outcomes.

Her grants include the NSF-funded Creating an Engineering Equity Teaching Center (2022–2025) and The Nature of Engineering Work: Curricular Messaging and Alignment with Diverse Undergraduate Students’ Values (2021–2025). She has also led studies on contextual competence in engineering and the impact of EC2000 accreditation standards. Her work bridges theory, practice, and policy to address broadening participation and equity in STEM.

Dr. Lattuca has collaborated with centers such as the Center for Socially Engaged Engineering Education and Design and the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering. She co-authored Shaping the College Curriculum: Academic Plans in Context and authored Creating Interdisciplinarity, and has served on editorial boards for journals like Journal of Engineering Education and AERA Open.