Gilda Barbarino Will Be the Next President of the Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts

The board of trustees of the Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts, has announced the selection of Gilda A. Barabino to become the second president of the educational institution that was founded in 1997. Dr. Barabino will take office on July 1.

The Olin College of Engineering enrolls nearly 400 students in undergraduate programs, according to the latest data supplied to the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 20 percent of the student body.

A respected researcher in the study of sickle cell disease, Dr. Barabino became dean of the Grove School of Engineering at the City College of New York in 2013. She also serves as the Daniel and Frances Berg Professor at City College. Previously, she taught at Georgia Tech, Emory University, and Northeastern University.

Dr. Barabino is a graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana and holds a Ph.D. from Rice University in Houston. She was the first African American woman admitted to the graduate program in chemical engineering at Rice University. In 1986, she was the fifth African American woman in the nation to obtain a doctorate in chemical engineering.