Join a panel of engineering recruiters as they discuss and answer your questions about the characteristics of a successful recruit, what recruiters look for in job candidates and what things that candidates do right and wrong in the interview process.

Kelsey Lavigne

Moderator

Kelsey Lavigne is the Director of Employer Relations for the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas.  She previously worked as a career counselor and as a software engineer for J.B. Hunt.  She holds a B.A. in anthropology from the U of A and an M.S. in college student personnel from the University of Tennessee.

Margot Purdy

Co-moderator

Margot Purdy is the Career Events and Co-Op Coordinator for the University of Arkansas College of Engineering.  She manages the daily operations of the Cooperative Education Program, as well as designing, developing and executing workshops and career events.  Ms. Purdy assists undergraduates, graduate students and recent alumni with career exploration opportunities.  She received her B.S Ed. degree from Kennesaw State University and is currently working on her Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) certification.

Hunter Vinson

Hunter Vinson, P.E., is a Project Engineer at Garver, a multi-disciplined engineering, planning, architectural and environmental services firm headquartered in North Little Rock, AR.  He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas.  He began his career with Garver as an intern and has spent the past five years on the Transportation team, working in the Fayetteville, Tulsa, and Rogers offices.

Stacy Gunderman

Stacy Gunderman is Director of Administration for FutureFuel Chemical Company. She received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arkansas and has been with the Batesville, Arkansas, site through its transitions from Eastman Kodak to Eastman Chemical Company to FutureFuel Chemical Company. Ms. Gunderman’s career has included assignments as Project Engineer, Maintenance Team Manager, Supervisor of Engineering, Assistant to the President and Manager of Health and Safety. As Director of Administration, she has responsibility for Human Resources, Training, Communications and Public Affairs, and Quality Assurance.

Cortney McGinty

Cortney McGinty is one of the HR Recruiting Team managers within Talent Acquisition at J.B. Hunt.  She manages the University Relations Team, which is responsible for overseeing university and diversity recruiting, community relations for the enterprise, and the nationwide internship and co-op programs.  Ms. McGinty attended Pittsburg State University where she received a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources.  Prior to J.B. Hunt, she worked for Cintas Corporation as a Human Resources Representative and for Aerotek, where she recruited architects, civil engineers, CAD designers and other engineering roles.

Join a panel of engineering professors in discussing the difficulties in balancing your time with the demands in teaching, research and service.  Can I succeed if I am not good at all three?

Brandon Crisel

Co-moderator

Brandon Crisel is a 12-year veteran instructor at the University of Arkansas with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mathematics and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the U of A.  He began his teaching career in the Math Department by teaching service courses, serving as Testing Coordinator and helping to spearhead the department’s initiative to create an on-line program for service courses while simultaneously implementing a flipped course teaching method for traditional classes.  After initially joining the First-Year Engineering Program (FEP) in a 50/50 split with Math, Mr. Crisel is now a full-time instructor for FEP, where he has helped to redesign the Electronics and Robotics theme and has worked to create a common computing theme for all incoming students.

Heath Schluterman, Co-moderator

Heath Schluterman is a Teaching Associate Professor who also serves as the Associate Director for Academics for the University of Arkansas First-year Engineering Program (FEP).  His duties include instructing FEP courses, advising FEP students, coordination of all FEP courses and service on various committees.  Dr. Schluterman completed his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering at the University of Arkansas.

Raju Dandu

Raju Dandu is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology and Director of the Kansas State University Bulk Solids Innovation Center.  He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University and his Diploma Engineer from Slovak Technical University, Czechoslovakia, in Thermal and Nuclear Power Engineering.  Dr. Dandu served as the graduate program director at Kansas State University Polytechnic campus.  His research interests are in applied research that provides solutions to industry in the areas of storage, handling and pneumatic conveying of dry bulk solids, systems and product design.  He is currently serving on the ABET Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission Executive Committee, is a member of ASME Committee on Engineering Education and serves on the Board of Directors of ASEE).

Manuel Rossetti

Manuel Rossetti is a University Professor of Industrial Engineering and the Director of the inter-disciplinary B.S. degree in Data Science at the University of Arkansas.  He previously served as the Director for the Center for Excellence in Logistics and Distribution, an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center.  He was selected as a Lilly Teaching Fellow in 1997-98, received the College of Engineering Imhoff Teaching Award in 2012 and was elected an IISE Fellow.  In 2013, the UA Alumni Association awarded Dr. Rossetti the Charles and Nadine Baum Faculty Teaching Award, the highest award for teaching at the university.  In 2015, Dr. Rossetti served as Program Chair for the Winter Simulation Conference and will be the General Chair in 2024.  He is also the author of the book, Simulation Modeling and Arena, published by John Wiley & Sons.

Ashlee Ford Versypt

Ashlee Ford Versypt is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.  Dr. Ford Versypt began her academic career at Oklahoma State where she rose to the rank of associate professor.  She was the 2020-2021 Chair for the ASEE Chemical Engineering Division.  She has received a number of awards including the NSF CAREER Award, the ASEE Chemical Engineering Division Fahien Award, the ASEE Midwest Section Outstanding Service Award, AIChE 35 Under 35, the OSU Outstanding Achievement for the Mentorship of Women and the OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Excellent Teacher Award. Her research is currently funded by NSF and NIH.