Lisa A. Shay

Associate Dean for Educational Innovation
Professor of Electrical Engineering

Lisa A. Shay became the Associate Dean for Educational Innovation at the Albert Nerken School of Engineering at The Cooper Union in September 2019. She comes to Cooper Union from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, where she was Director of the Electrical Engineering Program, a program that US News & World Report consistently ranks in the top 10 nationwide among institutions where a doctorate is not offered. She had responsibility for 10 military and civilian faculty who taught 30 electrical engineering courses to over 500 cadets each year and administered 14 laboratory facilities with equipment valued at more than $10 million. She was also Chair of the Laboratory Resources Committee responsible for managing all laboratory equipment across ten academic departments.

Dr. Shay recently retired from a distinguished career of 30 years in the United States Army. During this time, she served in numerous leadership positions while stationed in the United States and abroad. She retired with the rank of colonel.

Dr. Shay has authored three book chapters, Michigan State Law Review articleand over 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. She pursues interdisciplinary research among the fields of engineering, education, law, policy, and ethics. Her interests include developing and using technology to benefit society and humanity across the world and developing engineers who act with a sense of civic responsibility and social justice.

Dr. Shay holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point. As a Marshall Scholar she studied at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and received a M.S. degree in Engineering from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. She holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, and an M.A. in Pastoral Studies from Fordham University. She is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), an ABET evaluator for electrical engineering programs, a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu.She is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Related News

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.