Dr. Eleanor Baum is the Dean of Engineering at Cooper Union Engineering School in New York. She was the first female dean of engineering in the U.S. and the first female president of the American Society for Engineering Education.

Dr. Baum is a frequent writer and speaker on issues related to women and minority students in higher education and other engineering education issues. She is a guest on numerous radio and television programs and is frequently quoted by the press as an authority in these areas. She has scoured community colleges and high schools in urban centers in the Northeast to find women and minority students of college potential who face obstacles in attending college. Dr. Baum has been successful in not only convincing large numbers of students that they could attend college but also in ensuring that they successfully completed their course of study.

Dr. Baum serves on the Board of Directors of Avnet, Inc., United States Trust Company and Allegheny Power Systems Corporation. She is a director of the National Engineering Deans Council, a commissioner on the Engineering Manpower Commission and serves on the board of governors of the New York Academy of Science. She serves on advisory boards for Duke University, Rice University, SUNY at Buffalo and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. She was chair of the Board of Examiners of the Graduate Record Examination, and a trustee for Pratt Institute. She is also president-elect of ABET. Dr. Baum is a Fellow of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers.

Dr. Baum earned her Ph.D. from Polytechnic University and has received honorary Doctor of Science Degrees from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Notre Dame University and Union College. Her awards include the ASEE Centennial Medal, the Dean's Medallion for achievement in the engineering profession from Michigan State University, "Woman of Distinction Award" from the National Conference of Student Leaders, the Steinmetz Medal Award from IEEE, the Upward Mobility Award from the Society of Women Engineers, and the Outstanding Alumnus Achievement Award from Polytechnic Institute of New York.

More information on Dr. Eleanor Baum is available at the following:
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University President's Office

• Profile updated in 2007