Teresa Helmlinger Ratcliff, Ph.D., P.E., F.NSPE has recently been awarded the National Society of Professional Engineers’ 2020 Distinguished Service Award. The award was established to recognize NSPE members for their exceptional contributions to the engineering profession, to their communities, and to NSPE.

“In selecting the recipient of the NSPE Distinguished Service Award, we have to look at an individual’s commitment to not just NSPE, but to the profession and the candidate’s own community,” said Brent Chesnut, P.E., the chair of the NSPE Honors and Awards Committee. “Teresa’s dedication to her professional and volunteer activities, both within and outside our organization, made her an exceptional selection for this award and we’re proud to have her as an integral part of our organization.”

Among Helmlinger Ratcliff’s most recognized professional traits, passion is perhaps her most venerable hallmark — and it has been showcased for decades. She holds Fellow status in both NSPE and the Professional Engineers of North Carolina (PENC) and was the first woman to serve as president of the Society in 2003. Equally noteworthy, she received the NSPE Award in 2011, the first and only woman to hold that honor. It is the highest award presented to an engineer by the Society for outstanding contributions to the profession, the public welfare, and humankind. Additionally, she is a past chair of NSPE’s Professional Engineers in Industry interest group and a past president of both PENC and its Central Carolina Chapter.

Currently, Helmlinger Ratcliff is director of interprofessional education and outreach and Professor of the Practice at Campbell University’s School of Engineering. In this capacity, she works with industries in eastern North Carolina that are interested in partnering with the curriculum, mentoring students, volunteering for university activities, and hiring student interns and full-time employees upon graduation. Moreover, she has helped expand Campbell’s engineering program, including developing and instructing courses on lean manufacturing and quality engineering, engineering statistics, and engineering economics. Prior to her post at Campbell, Helmlinger Ratcliff was North Carolina State University’s (NCSU) vice provost for outreach and engagement and executive director of industry expansion solutions. She retired from that role in 2016.

With both a master’s degree in business administration and a doctorate in public administration, Helmlinger Ratcliff has extended her talents to professional organizations beyond NSPE. Some of these include the Society of Women Engineers, American Society for Engineering Education, and the North Carolina Society of Engineers, of which she is a past president of its Raleigh Engineers Club. She is a charter member and past president of both the SWE student chapter at NCSU and the Eastern North Carolina Chapter of SWE.

In 2006, Helmlinger Ratcliff was appointed by the state governor as a member of the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors for which she served 10 years, some of those as chair. She has also served on several committees and task forces for the National Council of Examiners of Engineers and Surveyors. And from 2008 to 2013, she represented NSPE as an alternate appointed member to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Also in 2008, Helmlinger Ratcliff became a founding member of the Institute Education Council, the workforce development and education partner of the National Association of Manufacturers. The organization’s diverse initiatives support all American workers and emerging workers through skills training programs, community building, and their career advancement in manufacturing. For nearly 10 years, she participated in that challenge.

Without question, Helmlinger Ratcliff has left an imprint on the careers of many engineers and has been integral in bolstering their leadership paths. A past recipient of both the PENC Young Engineer of the Year and Distinguished Service Awards, Helmlinger Ratcliff in 2003 received the NCSU Council on the Status of Women’s Equity for Women Award. And in 2010, she was recognized by the University Continuing Education Association for her outreach and community engagement practices.