Eleanor K. Baum | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1940 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Polytechnic Institute of New York |
| Occupation | Electrical engineer |
Eleanor K. Baum (born 1940) is anAmericanelectrical engineer andeducator. In 1984, she became the first female dean of an engineering school in the United States, atPratt Institute inBrooklyn, New York.[1][2]
Now retired, in 1987 she was made dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering atCooper Union. She was also the first woman president of theAmerican Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and has served as president ofAccreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
She was born in 1940, anonly child. Her parents left Europe during theHolocaust and moved to the United States where they urged her to become anelementary schoolteacher, or, as a secondary option, a high school math teacher. As she was growing up, her parents would hide articles with themes of "the joys of being a schoolteacher" under her pillow. Baum considered herself "one of [the] really good kids," who did what they were told. She has stated that because she was an only child, all of her parents’ hopes and dreams were centered on her, so she felt obligated to behave.[3]
According to Baum,engineering was her "big rebellion". When she told her mother about her career choice, her mother said, "You can’t do that. People will think you’re weird, and no one will marry you."[3]
She attended Midwood High School inBrooklyn, New York where she excelled in advanced science and mathematics classes. Although there were a few other girls in her advanced chemistry classes, Baum was the only girl in her advanced physics and advanced mathematics classes.Engineering was dominated by men which, in addition to her adolescent rebellion, influenced her to choose it.
Baum was met with resistance upon applying to engineering colleges: Her high school teachers were discouraging and balked in a similar way that her mother did. One of the engineering schools she applied to would not admit her because it did not have a sufficient ladies' room.[3]
After initial resistance, she was finally accepted toCity College of New York. She graduated in 1958 as the only woman in her engineering class. Baum said, "Being the only girl in college classes was not wonderful... you become all women. If I don’t know something, then it’s 'all women can’t'..."Privacy was also an issue; fellow students were particularly interested in her grades.[3] In 1964, she earned herPh.D fromPolytechnic Institute of New York (nowNew York University Tandon School of Engineering).[4][5]
After graduating fromCity College of New York, she worked at theSperry Rand Corporation andGeneral Instrument Corporation, both of theaerospace industry. Baum maintained ties to industry through consulting.[4]
In 1984, Baum became thedean ofPratt Institute's school of engineering in New York, a distinctive role because it made her the first woman dean of an engineering school in the United States. Three years later, she became dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering atCooper Union.
Baum is a fellow ofthe Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), theSociety of Women Engineers (SWE), and theAmerican Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). She was the first woman to serve as president of the ASEE. She has served as president of ABET and sat on theNational Science Foundation's Engineering Advisory Board. She was involved with the Engineering Manpower Commission.[4]
In 1988, theNational Women's Hall of Fame presented Baum with the Emily Warren Roebling Award. In 1990, theSociety of Women Engineers awarded her the SWE Upward Mobility Award. In 1996, Baum was inducted into theWomen in Technology International Hall of Fame.[4] In 2007, she was inducted into theNational Women's Hall of Fame. She is a Dean Emeritus at Cooper Union.[6]
She is married tophysicist Paul Baum and has two daughters.