College of Engineering Dean Ayanna Howard serves as an inspiration for women in STEM

Ayanna Howard is the first female dean of the College of Engineering. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State

When Kavya Narayanan entered her first engineering class at Ohio State, she found a lecture hall full of only men — something she had never experienced before. 

Narayanan said she sought out fellow women of color in order to regain a sense of community she felt coming from a racially diverse high school, where women were actively encouraged to pursue careers in STEM. In March 2021, Ayanna Howard was hired as the first female dean of the College of Engineering, giving Narayanan, a fourth-year in biomedical engineering, a role model in her own college, she said.  

Howard has held roles in higher education and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and she founded Zyrobotics, a company that makes mobile therapy and educational products for children with disabilities, according to the College of Engineering’s website. Howard also made Forbes’ Top 50 Women in Tech list for being an innovator in the field.

Howard said she has enjoyed her first year as dean and is excited about the direction the university is headed.

“With all the new leadership that has come in, we’re really thinking about how we’re positioning Ohio State for the future,” Howard said. “We’re all aligned for growth and thinking about what’s the next step.”

Narayanan said she was glad to hear Howard would join Ohio State faculty and is excited for the future of the College of Engineering. She said women like Howard make her feel more welcome in the field.

“The best thing you can do to encourage other females is to see older females in high positions,” Narayanan said. “We knew there would be some change within the College of Engineering that was definitely necessary.”

Narayanan said as a woman of color with immigrant parents, she finds it easier and more comfortable to approach a female professor or a woman of color to ask questions in class.

“I feel scared of feeling stupid if I go ask a white male because I don’t know how I’ll be judged by that because of how society is right now, and that’s what we’re working to break down, but unfortunately that’s how it is,” Narayanan said. 

Howard said she felt drawn to Ohio State because of the wealth of engineering opportunities combined with University President Kristina M. Johnson’s experience in the field. She said she wants to ensure engineers can have a social impact in their careers after college.

Narayanan said having Howard join the university is one step in a larger movement to diversify faculty so all students feel included every day.

“Within my department, biomedical engineering, I think there’s a great balance between male and female, but I think for other departments the same cannot be said,” Narayanan said. “That’s who we have the one-on-one interactions with. That’s who we go to for help.”

Howard said she hopes to inspire others to pursue careers in engineering as others did for her.

“It’s always inspiring because it’s not as bad now as it was then, and if they can do it, then I can do it,” Howard said. “If I can do it, then anyone who’s following who’s younger is like, ‘Oh, I can do it too.’”