Dubbed the “Eco Green Queen” after a company she founded, Dr. Fushcia-Ann Hoover ’09 obtained her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of St. Thomas when there were not many African American women majoring in engineering anywhere in the U.S.
Hoover, who received her master’s degree and doctorate in ecological sciences and engineering – both at Purdue University, shattered norms.
As an interdisciplinary researcher who studies the interactions between urban green spaces, environmental justice, and planning, Hoover is now an assistant professor of environmental planning at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, currently on leave while at Harvard Radcliffe Institute as a Harvard-Salata Climate Justice Fellow,
Hoover shares how St. Thomas gave her “a vast skill and set of tools that I still use today.”
How did the St. Thomas engineering program shape your career?
St. Thomas very much shaped my career as a foundational pillar in the direction that I have gone. It was a great foundation in building a lot of the interest I have now and answering a lot of questions I ask now, such as about environmental racism and environmental justice applications. It taught me to see the ethics in engineering and the ethos around thinking about how your work is contributing to the common good in society.
Which St. Thomas professor most influenced your career?
I had the great opportunity to work with Dr. John Abraham on a research project when I was a merit scholar. Through that experience I realized I like answering questions about why we are doing things a certain way or how we can do something better. For example, how are we managing our water resources and how are we managing people and where they live and have access to those resources?
What are you grateful for regarding your St. Thomas education?
I am really grateful for the small classroom sizes and the one-on-one attention from the faculty across the university and the sincere investment that I think all my professors had in my academic success and my future professional career even though we didn’t know what that was going to be. Their belief that I could be successful was really helpful when I doubted myself.
Christopher Cho contributed to this story.
This story is featured in the spring 2024 issue of St. Thomas Engineer.
