Eleanor K. Baum

Eleanor K. Baum (born 1940) is an American electrical engineer and educator. In 1984, she became the first female dean of an engineering school in the United States, at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.

Now retired, in 1987 she was made dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering at Cooper Union. She was also the first woman president of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and has served as president of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). She is a former chair of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Early life and family She was born in 1940, an only child. Her parents left Europe during the Holocaust and moved to the United States where they urged her to become an elementary 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.

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."

Career After graduating from City College of New York, she worked at the Sperry Rand Corporation and General Instrument Corporation, both of the aerospace industry. Baum maintained ties to industry through consulting.

Societies Baum is a fellow of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and the American 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 the National Science Foundation's Engineering Advisory Board. She was involved with the Engineering Manpower Commission.

She holds honorary doctorates from several prestigious institutions, including the University of Notre Dame, Union College, and the Colorado School of Mines.

Personal life She is married to physicist Paul Baum and has two daughters.