Three Women College Presidents Announce Their Resignations

Gilda Barabino, the first woman president of Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts, has announced her intent to retire at the conclusion of this academic year amidst a period of financial turmoil at the college, including an annual operating deficit of $4 million. Dr. Barabino will remain on the faculty as a professor of biomedical and chemical engineering.

In July 2020, Dr. Barabino became the second president of Olin College of Engineering. She is an internationally recognized thought leader of race, ethnicity, and gender representation in STEM. As a scholar, her contributions to the understanding of sickle cell disease and orthopedic tissue engineering have formed the basis for several novel therapies.

Prior to her presidency, Dr. Barabino was dean of the Grove School of Engineering at the City University of New York. In this role, she developed a new master’s degree program in translational medicine, which addresses unmet clinical needs through the integration of engineering, medical innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Barabino received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana. She was the first African American to graduate from Rice University’s doctoral chemical engineering program and the fifth Black woman in the United States to receive a Ph.D. in chemical engineering.

Soraya Coley, the sixth and first woman president of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, has announced her retirement, effective July 2025.

Since Dr. Coley assumed her presidency in 2014, Cal Poly Pomona has increased its enrollment, created new student success initiatives, invested in campus facilities, advanced faculty and student development opportunities, and expanded its community partnerships.

Before joining the Cal Poly Pomona community, Dr. Coley was provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Bakersfield. Earlier, she was dean of the College of Human Development and Community Service at California State University, Fullerton.

Dr. Coley received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. She holds a master’s degree in social planning and social research and a Ph.D. in social planning and policy from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

Kayse Shrum, the first woman president of Oklahoma State University, has unexpectedly stepped down from her position.

Dr. Shrum became the nineteenth president of Oklahoma State University in July 2021. Her career with the university began in 2002 as a faculty member with the university’s Center for Health Sciences (CHS). During her tenure with the medical school, she had stints as chair of the department of pediatrics, provost, and dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine for two years. In 2013, she was named president of OSU-CHS, making her the first woman and youngest-ever president and dean of a medical school in the state of Oklahoma. As a doctor and scholar, Dr. Shrum has dedicated her career to advancing rural health and primary care medicine.

Dr. Shrum holds a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from Oklahoma State University.