HBCU Spelman College announced roboticist Dr. Ayanna Howard as their next president this weekend.
Announced in an official release, the Spelman College Board of Trustees named Howard as their 12th president in the HBCU’s history. She will officially start her duties on Aug 1. As president, Howard will lead the HBCU, helping address financial barriers that can affect students and providing support to students as she champions equitable education.
The process for choosing the university’s newest president included input from alumnae, trustees, faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders. The guidelines for assuming the position were finding someone who could honor Spelman’s legacy while building it and setting the HBCU up for continued success.
Howard will be joining Spelman from the Ohio State University, where she is currently the dean of the College of Engineering. The renowned engineer also holds the Monte Ahuja Endowed Dean’s Chair.
Howard has previously been recognized by Forbes as one of the Top 50 Women in Tech. She is the co-founder of Zyrobotics, a company dedicated to creating educational technologies that help children with disabilities. Howard is also the co-founder of Black in Robotics, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for fair representation in robotics.
Throughout her career, Howard has held positions in education, becoming the first woman to lead the College of Engineering and serving as a chair at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Interactive Computing. Recognized as a renowned engineering and AI expert, she has also held multiple positions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, helping prepare robotics such as SmartNav and SnoMotes.
In a statement, Howard said that she was honored to join Spelman College as their newest president.
“Students choose Spelman because they want to make a difference in the world, and as the world changes, we must equip them to thrive,” she wrote. “At a time when technology, the workforce, and society are evolving rapidly, Spelman’s mission has never been more important. I look forward to building on the College’s legacy while honoring its tradition, values, and sisterhood.”
Primarily a liberal arts college, Spelman has held the number one spot in the U.S. News & World Report’s HBCU list for 19 years in a row. The college has also been recognized as one of the top 25 learning institutions to produce the most Gilman Scholars. It has also been named No. 1 among America’s Best Colleges for Women in 2026 by Newsweek.
As of now, Spelman is also recognized as one of the U.S.’ leading learning institutions in helping Black women earn doctoral degrees in STEM fields.
Recognized as the oldest private HBCU liberal arts institution for women, Spelman’s alumni include activist Marian Wright Edelman, composer and social activist Bernice Johnson Reagon as well as attorney Dovey Johnson Roundtree.
