Spelman College named Ayanna Howard as its 12th president, with her term beginning Aug. 1. Howard, a robotics and human-centered technology expert, is currently dean of Ohio State’s College of Engineering and has held roles including work at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Georgia Tech. The appointment positions a technology-focused leader at a leading HBCU with a long track record of producing Black women who earn doctoral degrees in STEM fields. Spelman highlighted Howard’s experience as a co-founder of Zyrobotics, and her work expanding representation through organizations such as Black in Robotics. For higher education professionals, the selection reinforces a trend of appointing innovation-oriented leaders to drive curriculum and research agendas—while also signaling continued emphasis on STEM pathways and inclusive technology ecosystems at mission-critical institutions.