Upon assuming her new role on July 1, Dr. Gina Spivey-Brown will become the first woman to lead Oakwood University. She has served as dean of Howard University's College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences for the past decade.
As of 2025, 55 of the world's top 200 universities are led by women, representing 27 percent of the top academic leaders around the globe. Two American women lead institutions in the top 10 universities.
Michelle B. Larson, an astrophysicist and experienced academic professional, has spent the past decade leading The Adler Planetarium in Chicago. She is slated to become Clarkson University's first woman president on April 1.
Upon joining Gonzaga University in July, Dr. Passerini will become the institution's first woman president. She currently serves as provost at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
Effective January 2025, Barbara Jung will become the first woman dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. She currently serves as the first woman chair of the department of internal medicine at the University of Washington.
For the Fall 2024 semester, the college's total undergraduate enrollment grew by 10 percent from the previous year. The women's college also experienced its third consecutive year of record-breaking growth in applications.
Originally founded in 1891, the California Institute of Technology did not admit women students until the 1970s. Five decades later, the freshman class of 2028 is the first in school history where more than half of its students are women.
While Yale has previously appointed women as interim presidents, Maurie McInnis will be the first woman to serve as the university's official president. She has been serving as president of Stony Brook University, a campus of the State University of New York System.
Dr. Thomas has been serving as the executive vice president at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia. She began her service there in 2017 as vice president of enrollment management and institutional advancement.
Dr. Gilliam has been provost at Ohio State University since July 2021. Earlier, she was vice provost, the Ellen H. Block Distinguished Service Professor of Health Justice, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics at the University of Chicago. She will become president of Boston University on July 1, 2024.
Since 2020, Dr. Eanes has served as president of York College of the City University of New York. She served as vice president for student affairs at California State University, Fullerton from 2012 to 2019. Earlier, Dr. Eanes was vice president of student affairs at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York.
Dr. Gustafson was the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a professor of history at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Professor Gustafson’s teaching and scholarly interests include American immigration history, Swedish immigration, and the history of American women.
