Julia Lapan

Dr. Lapan most recently served as assistant dean at University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, where she led career development and international programs for all Engineering students. As a strategic partner to the Dean’s leadership team for the past 11 years, she built an ecosystem of career support, including integrating career design and learning into the first-year Engineering Foundations curriculum. She has led efforts to engage alumni and employers with academic departments and has supported faculty in advising students on education abroad and career success. Lapan’s career spans over two decades in higher education and includes career services, international programs, athletics, alumni relations, fundraising and corporate development. Lapan holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in higher education from the UVA School of Education and Human Development and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from College of the Holy Cross. She engages in scholarly research and writing on the topics of student career success and equity in higher education and has presented her research at the national level. She lives in Charlottesville with her husband and young daughter. In her spare time, she enjoys trail running and training for sprint triathlons.