The Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center has named Lori Troxel a recipient of one of its five annual awards for 2025. Award recipients will be recognized at a luncheon on Tuesday, April 22.
Troxel, professor of the practice of civil and environmental engineering, received the Mentoring Award, which honors a member of the Vanderbilt University community who fosters the professional and intellectual development of Vanderbilt women.
One of her recommenders explained that the enrollment in Vanderbilt’s undergraduate civil engineering program is 61 percent female, which is “more than double the national norm for participation by women” at this level. The recommender suggested that Troxel is “the central reason” for Vanderbilt women’s strong engagement in civil engineering.
Other recommenders agreed with this assessment, noting Troxel’s role as adviser to the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). One recommender said that, as part of ASCE, Troxel urged her to “get involved in planning the student conference for hundreds of students. This experience gave me organizational skills and connections that I maintain to this day.”
Another recommender wrote: “I feel a strong sense of belonging in engineering, which I attribute to the inclusive environment Dr. Troxel helped create. Her mentorship helped me see that engineering isn’t just about technical expertise—it’s also about caring for the world around us and working collaboratively to make a positive impact.”
This year, three people are being recognized with a Mentoring Award. The other two recipients are Ken Lau, professor of cell and developmental biology and of surgery, and Srishti Nayak, research assistant professor of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery and co-director of the Music Cognition Lab.