Pam Kurstedt, considered a pioneer among women in the engineering field and the first female Assistant Dean of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 15.
A mechanical engineering graduate of Virginia Tech, she held the position of Virginia Tech’s Assistant Dean for Enrichment and International Programs for almost 20 years, from 1984 until 2003, while simultaneously serving as the Director of the College of Engineering’s Northern Virginia Center for the last eight years. She started working in the College of Engineering in 1977.
Paul Torgersen, who appointed Kurstedt to her position, recalled, “Pam was one of the most innovative and exciting" people whom he worked with when he served as the Dean of Engineering. He added that she was "indeed a pioneer among women in the engineering field starting in the late 1970s. And she mixed her achievements with an incredible devotion to her husband and to her children."
Work-related lifetime achievements were plentiful for Kurstedt who was 60. She spent almost 25 years in higher education administration at Virginia Tech. During her illustrious tenure at Virginia Tech, she used her unique ability to inspire others to be as generous as she was, bringing professionals to the classroom so her students could catch a glimpse of real life engineering applications and creating first-time programs that would serve as hallmarks for later teaching innovations.
When she retired from Virginia Tech, she and her husband, Harold, also retired from the College of Engineering, founded The Newport Group, LLC. She served as its President and CEO, and together they consulted with some of the premier business leaders in the U.S., including management at CitiBank, Dewberry, and Lockheed Martin.
The family will receive friends on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 at 11 a.m. at the Auburn United Methodist Church, Riner, Va. The funeral service will be held at noon at Auburn United Methodist Church with Rev. Katye Fox officiating, with a catered reception following. Private family interment services will be held in the Clover Hollow Cemetery in Newport, Va.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011, at 2 p.m. at The Falls Church, 115 East Fairfax Street, Falls Church, Va.
In lieu of flowers, the family’s wish is for gifts to be directed to Samaritan’s Purse International Relief. www.samaritanspurse.org. “Look for gift catalog options to make a gift in Pam’s memory” (1-800-528-1980).
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