Dr. Carpenter is Founding Dean and Professor of Engineering at Campbell University and President-Elect of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). An expert on issues impacting success of women in STEM and innovative STEM curricula, she has held numerous national leadership roles, including ASEE Vice President, WEPAN (Women in Engineering ProActive Network) President, and MAA (Mathematical Association of America) First Vice-President. In addition, she has served as Chair of the MAA Council on the Profession, Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Women in the Mathematical Societies, Chair of the National Academies Ad Hoc Committee on the Gulf Scholars Program, and National Steering Committee Chair for the Grand Challenge Scholars Program.

Along with Drs. Yannis Yortsos, Rick Miller, and Tom Katsouleas, Dr. Carpenter received the 2022 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Techology Education from the National Academy of Engineering. The Gordon prize recognizes their roles as the pioneers of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program. Carpenter is an ABET Program Evaluator, and sits on the Executive Committee of both the Global Engineering Deans Council and is a past member of the US Engineering Deans Council. In 2015 DreamBox Learning selected her as one of 10 Women in STEM Who Rock! for her advocacy work and her TEDx talk, “Engineering: Where are the Girls and Why aren’t They Here?” the only academic on a list of CEOs, politicians and actresses. Dr. Carpenter received the 2019 ASEE Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering Education. She has received the WEPAN Founder’s Award and the WEPAN Distinguished Service Award. She earned both her MS and PhD in Mathematics from LSU, where she held a prestigious LSU Alumni Federation Fellowship.