News 2022: Tracie Ferreira receives 2022 award for excellence in equity, diversity, & inclusion
Tracie Ferreira receives 2022 award for excellence in equity, diversity, & inclusion

Ferreira serves as associate professor and chairperson for the Department of Bioengineering.

Tracie Ferreira
Associate Professor Tracie Ferreira and bioengineering student Ava Marks conducting research in the lab (Photographer: Karl Dominey)

Dr. Tracie Ferreira, chairperson and associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering, is the 2022 recipient of the College of Engineering Faculty Award for Excellence in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Nominators noted that Ferreira has worked diligently and effectively to create a learning environment that enables all students from different backgrounds and with different learning capacities to grow and mature academically and professionally. She has provided opportunities to local, economically disadvantaged high school students to participate in summer research programs through the MA Life Sciences Center Biotechnology program.

Participants in the program who have transitioned to undergraduate programs at UMass Dartmouth noted that Ferreira “serves as a mentor, advisor, and friend to us as she leads us to explore our passions.” 

Ferreira was recently awarded a $1.49M NSF S-STEM award that will provide $900,000 in scholarships to low-income academically talented students in our BS/MS programs.  Her program will develop initiatives that support the graduation of diverse populations of students in STEM to fulfill workforce demands and prepare graduate students to advance research discoveries into practice.