Lia Franklin

I've dedicated 35 years to higher education, with the last 3 years serving as acting director of the McNeil Center at an engineering school in Colorado. In my role, I teach entrepreneurship through multiple approaches, including classes and industry-partnered challenges. I work closely with industry to identify real-world problems, frame them for students, and guide teams through solution development. A typical challenge runs about 3 weeks, with students diving deep into the problem, engaging in Q&A sessions with industry partners for early validation, and ultimately pitching their solutions. We're particularly strong in energy and work across electrical, biomass, and other engineering disciplines. I'm passionate about getting engineering students engaged in entrepreneurship, even though they don't typically come to a top engineering school thinking about startups. Through hands-on experience, I show them how to drive value whether in industry or their own companies. I believe strongly in cross-disciplinary collaboration, teaching students that when you have different perspectives at the table, that's when the magic happens and the best results come. I also serve as faculty advisor for our SWE (Society of Women Engineers) chapter, which is the largest in the nation despite our campus of only 8,200 students, with an operating budget over $90,000 a year. I'm committed to supporting women in engineering and ensuring they continue to thrive regardless of institutional or political challenges.