Spelman College, President

We are pleased to announce that The Spelman College Board of Trustees has appointed Dr. Ayanna Howard as the College's 12th president. A nationally recognized leader in robotics, artificial intelligence, and higher education, Dr. Howard will assume her duties as president on August 1, 2026.

Dr. Howard joins Spelman from The Ohio State University, where she serves as dean of the College of Engineering and holds the Monte Ahuja Endowed Dean's Chair. Her career has spanned leadership roles in higher education, industry, entrepreneurship, and government — including service at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Georgia Institute of Technology. 

A prolific researcher and thought leader, Dr. Howard has also authored more than 300 publications and is internationally recognized for her contributions to robotics, artificial intelligence, and human‑centered technology. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Academy of Inventors, and was named to Forbes’ America’s Top 50 Women in Tech. In addition to her academic leadership, she is co‑founder of Zyrobotics, a company focused on developing educational and therapeutic technologies for children with special needs, and co‑founder of Black in Robotics, an organization dedicated to expanding representation and opportunity in the field.

As president, Dr. Howard will elevate Spelman’s mission and build on its longstanding legacy of academic excellence, leadership development, and social impact while guiding the College through a period of continued growth and innovation. Her appointment follows a broad, inclusive search process that engaged trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumnae, and other key stakeholders in identifying a leader who could both honor Spelman’s traditions and position the institution for the future.

Dr. Howard earned her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Brown University, where she now serves on the Board of Trustees, and completed her doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of Southern California.

Read the full press release here.

Keight Tucker Kennedy and Kate Barry led this search with Alycia Johnson, Alexis Scott, and Kaitlin Cruz.