SESP Faculty

Lois Trautvetter

Faculty Profile

Lois Calian Trautvetter is Program Director of the Higher Education Administration and Policy Program (MSHE) and a Professor in the School of Education and Social Policy. Northwestern University’s MSHE program prepares dynamic, reflective leaders for colleges and universities, governmental agencies, and consulting firms in postsecondary education.

Over the past twenty years, Lois has been an administrator, faculty member, and researcher. Her research interests focus on undergraduate and graduate students, post-doc fellows, and faculty in STEM, especially for engineering, astrophysics, and other data science disciplines. Studies include factors and best practices supporting recruitment and retention of women and BIPOC students and faculty, mentoring, collegiality, work expectations, professional and personal stressors, career development, and professional development issues such as productivity, enhancing teaching and research, interdisciplinary collaboration, motivation, and faculty-student interaction.

Trautvetter has received multiple grants from National Science Foundation (NSF), Simon Foundation, John Templeton Foundation, and the Lilly Endowment Inc. She has written Putting Students First: How Colleges Develop Students Purposefully, and many book chapters and journal articles on faculty, students, and improving undergraduate and graduate education. Before Northwestern, Trautvetter was a former chemical engineer holding patents in the coating and resins industry.

Engineering education research including retention and recruitment of female and underrepresented undergraduate students and faculty, interdisciplinary skills, contextual competence skills, and design and problem solving skills.
Faculty productivity, enhancing research and teaching, faculty motivation, enhancing faculty-student interaction, and new and junior faculty issues.
Student development research that includes holistic and spiritual development of undergraduates.
Gender issues, females in STEM disciplines.

2022-26 $249,390 John Templeton Foundation and LSSTC Discovery Alliance. as an additional supplement for senior social scientists for $1.2M in total. “Establishing a Templeton LSST Early-Career Research Fellowship” from July 15, 2022-July 14, 2026 (PI).

2021-26 $9,000,000. John Templeton Foundation and LSST, Inc. “Contribution to the Implementation and Study of the LSST” (Total award was approximately $9M). NUFinancials Award and Project Number: SP0076892, 60063972. (co-I with Jennifer Solokoski at Columbia University as PI and LSSTC Discovery Alliance. )

2015-21 $2,966,598. National Science Foundation, “NRT-DESE: Training in Data-Driven Discovery – From the Earth and the Universe to the Successful Careers of the Future.” (Co-I with Vicky Kalogera as PI)(DGE-1450006-001).

2015 NRT-DESE: Training in Data- Driven Discovery – From the Earth and the Universe to the Successful Careers of the Future National Science Foundation 2015 – 2020 $2,966,598 Funded

2007 Prototyping the Engineer of 2020: A 360-degree Study of Effective Education NSF 2007 – 2011 $283,469 Funded

2004 Promoting Student Development Through Faculty Development John Templeton Foundation 2004 – 2005 $100,000 Funded

2003 Promoting Student Development Through Faculty Development Eli Lilly Foundation 2003 – 2005 $200,000 Funded