Four Black Scholars Taking on New Faculty Roles

Brian K. Smith is the new holder of the Honorable David S. Nelson Professional Chair and associate dean for research at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. He was senior associate dean of academic affairs at the College of Computing & Informatics at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

A 1991 graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles in computer science and engineering, Dr. Smith earned a Ph.D. in learning sciences from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Zindell Richardson is the new chair of the department of oral health science at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. He was commander of the 59th Dental Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Originally from Campbellsville, Kentucky, Dr. Richardson earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. He earned his doctorate in dental medicine from the University of Kentucky in 1983.

Olufunmilayo Ayobami will join the faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in January 2021 as an assistant teaching professor in the department of biomedical engineering. She is currently assistant dean for inclusion and engagement in the Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Dr. Ayobami is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she majored in biomedical engineering. She holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Cornell University.

Blessing Masasi has been appointed assistant professor for agricultural engineering at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He was a postdoctoral fellow in the department of biosystems and agricultural engineering at Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Masasi holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Zimbabwe. He earned a master’s degree in water science and engineering from the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands and a Ph.D. in biosystems engineering from Oklahoma State University.

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