President of Olin College of Engineering Gilda Barabino to Deliver 2023 Investiture Address

President of Olin College Gilda Barabino

Named for the founding director and the first professor of engineering at Thayer, the Fletcher Award is given annually in recognition of distinguished scientific achievement and service in the highest tradition of Dartmouth Engineering.

Barabino will also receive an honorary degree from Dartmouth at its 2023 Commencement, held the day after Thayer's Investiture on June 10.

Her seminal discoveries in sickle cell research have informed current technologies and formed the basis of novel therapies. At the City College of New York, she established the Master's in Translational Medicine program integrating engineering, medical innovation, and entrepreneurship. She served as the first vice provost for academic diversity at Georgia Institute of Technology, and as vice provost for undergraduate education at Northeastern University. She is board chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest scientific society, and, recently, she co-chaired a groundbreaking NASEM report on "Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in STEM Organizations."

Barabino is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She earned her BS from Xavier University of Louisiana and is the first African American to earn a PhD from Rice University in chemical engineering. In 2016, Xavier University awarded her an honorary doctorate.