Harriet B. Nembhard has been named the sixth president of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. She will take office on July 1.
Harvey Mudd College enrolls about 900 students, most specializing in science, engineering, and mathematics. The college has made great strides in diversity in recent years. In 2006, less than one percent of the student body was Black. Today it is 7 percent. The Class of 2025, which entered Harvey Mudd College in the fall of 2021, was 17.7 percent Black placing the college in second place in the JBHE Annual Survey of first-year students at the nation’s highest-ranked liberal arts colleges.
“I’m excited to bring my passion for STEM education to Harvey Mudd College, a leading higher education institution in experimentation and innovation, especially in developing inclusive pedagogy, increasing diversity in STEM and incorporating interdisciplinary approaches,” said Dr. Nembhard. “I’m also excited to join a college that is so deeply dedicated to inspiring its students to have a positive impact on society.”
A nationally respected leader in the field of industrial and operations engineering, Dr.Nembhard currently serves as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa. Before coming to Iowa in 2020, Dr. Nembhard was the Eric R. Smith Professor of Engineering and head of the School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University. Earlier, Dr. Nembhard was a professor in the department of industrial and manufacturing engineering at Pennsylvania State University. Her research is focused on improving complex systems across manufacturing and health care.
Nembhard earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Arizona State University. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan.
