Lynn Dugle - Raytheon
Vice President, Raytheon
President, Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems
Lynn A. Dugle is a Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) vice president and president of Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS).
Prior to her role at IIS, Dugle was vice president, Engineering, Technology and Quality for Raytheon Network Centric Systems, and was responsible for the function’s strategic direction, leadership and operations. Before joining Raytheon, Dugle held officer-level positions with ADC Telecommunications and served as a Texas Instruments vice president for Quality at the Defense Systems and Electronics Group.
Dugle earned two bachelor’s degrees from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Why do you believe STEM Education and Workforce are important to our nation?
STEM education is critical to our country’s economic competitiveness and national security. Raytheon, as a defense and technology leader, employs 45,000 engineers and scientists. Our defense, intelligence, and civilian government customers depend on Raytheon to provide the best solutions to protect our national interests. And Raytheon depends on a steady supply of talented people educated in STEM disciplines to support our customers’ missions.
However, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 15-year-old U.S.students recently ranked 25th in math and 17th in science out of 34 countries. If these statistics do not improve significantly, America could lose its technological edge, which would have profound consequences.
What traits do senior leaders need to effectively support and advance STEM today?
Senior leaders need to appreciate and promote the important role that STEM education has in our country’s economy and security. I am privileged to work with a true STEM leader in Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson, who for years has been a champion in promoting STEM education. He currently serves as the Honorary Chair of the national MATHCOUNTS program and has led our company with STEM initiatives like MathMovesU, which works to create an awareness and appreciation of math in young people. Like many other leading CEOs, Bill is a wonderful example of a leader effectively advancing STEM and more people across industry should follow his example.
What can we do to assure more women leaders in STEM?
A recent CNN report (May, 2012) indicated that women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, but they hold less than a quarter of the jobs in science, technology, engineering and math. So clearly, we must do a better job of encouraging women to pursue STEM educations and careers.
Once they enter the workforce, the talents of these women then need to be developed. At Raytheon, we offer meaningful career opportunities for women through our Engineering Leadership Development Program. Established in 2000, ELDP provides intensive technical and management training. We also have a resource group called the Raytheon Women’s Network that focuses on sharing best practices and enhancing leadership skills. To date, this network has grown to 20 chapters with 6,000 members across the country.
How is your company innovating to promote STEM?
Raytheon has a proud history of innovation and technology leadership dating back to 1922. Recognizing that STEM is critical to our success, the company has worked for years on our MathMovesU initiatives, which have touched the lives of 3 million students, teachers and parents by engaging children early so they develop a passion for mathematics. This year, Raytheon introduced MathAlive!, which will bring to life the math behind the fun experiences in their everyday lives such as designing video games or riding snowboards. MathAlive! debuted at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and will go on a multi-year tour of science centers and museums throughout the nation. We have also partnered with Walt Disney Imagineering to develop The Sum of All Thrills™ at Epcot where kids “engineer” an amusement park ride and then experience the thrill of riding it.
