Yaprak named to ABET Board of Directors
Ece Yaprak, chair and professor of engineering technology at Wayne State University, has been elected to serve on the ABET Board of Directors for a three-year term as the Engineering Technology Area Director (ETAD).
The ABET Board of Directors is responsible for strategic planning, financial oversight and managing the external relationships of the organization. It is also the final review body for appeal of decisions regarding accreditation actions for a specific program.
"I am truly honored and humbled to have been elected to serve in this new role,” said Yaprak. “This is an exciting opportunity for me to contribute to ABET’s strategic goals and work with ABET’s member societies in significant ways."
Yaprak will act as the voice for engineering technology on the Board of Directors — comprised of 13 members including three other area directors — and manage ETAD communications with the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC).
ABET membership is made up of 35 societies, professional and technical organizations that represent various fields in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.
Yaprak has been involved with ABET accreditation in many capacities since 2002. She has been a program evaluator, assessing electrical and computer engineering technology programs in the U.S. and internationally. From 2006-12 she served on the IEEE Committee on Engineering Technology Accreditation Activities as chair (2010-12), vice chair (2008-10) and committee member (2006-08 and 2017-23). Yaprak is a former ABET IEEE/ETAC commissioner (2012-17) and IEEE representative on the ABET Board of Delegates (2019-23).
Accreditation is a high priority for the Wayne State College of Engineering. Nine of its undergraduate programs have earned ABET accreditation, assuring confidence that Wayne State is meeting standards essential to preparing graduates to enter their respective professions. Yaprak, who was also the director of assessment and accreditation for the College of Engineering in 2014, possesses a deep understanding of ABET's processes and advocacy for accreditation that makes her an important resource for the college’s leaders and committee members.
A dual alumna of Wayne State, Yaprak earned her M.S. in computer engineering in 1984 and her Ph.D. in computer engineering in 1989. She has been a member of the Wayne State faculty since 1993 and chair of the Engineering Technology Division since 2017.