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Jeffrey Ray was the Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at Western Carolina University. A first-generation college graduate, Ray worked to provide support systems to other first-generation students to help them succeed. He was a champion of diversity and inclusion. Spurred by a desire to give back and to change students’ lives, he established a scholarship for aspiring engineering and engineering technology students. Ray also served the American Society of Engineering Education’s (ASEE) Executive Board as Vice President, Institutional Councils and as Chair of the Engineering Technology Council. He was an ASEE Fellow and served as president of the ASEE Task Force on Faculty Teaching Excellence.
 
The Jeffrey Ray Memorial Award recognizes proven leaders for teaching in their chosen fields. The recipient of this award has demonstrated enhanced student learning experiences, which has enabled students to excel. This award recognizes individual achievement in innovative teaching in engineering technology and/or applied engineering education, contributions to the scholarship of teaching, and participation in and service to engineering technology education at the regional and national level. The Jeffrey Ray Memorial Award was established to identify and recognize those who are among the nation's most influential educators in the study of applied engineering and/or engineering technology education. The goal is to award individuals whose insatiable love of teaching and learning has led them to strive above and beyond that which is expected of faculty to create learning environments that motivate students to reach outside their imagination and enable students to develop creative solutions to engineering problems in ways that make our world a better place. Moreover, the awardee’s actions are not to be limited to their classrooms; the awardee must actively and relentlessly share their accomplishments and successful teaching and learning strategies with colleagues in the engineering technology community. Further, it is expected that awardee will use the award opportunity to further develop, expand, and share the teaching strategies, experiments, and/or programs that drew the attention of the selection committee.


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