Dr. Whitney B. Gaskins

A mentor, adviser, and community activist, Dr. Whitney Gaskins has dedicated her life to motivation and philanthropic endeavors. Dr. Gaskins is the Assistant Dean of Inclusive Excellence and Community Engagement in the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science, the only African-American female currently teaching in the faculty of the College of Engineering. Whitney earned her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, her Masters of Business Administration in Quantitative Analysis and her Doctorate of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering/Engineering Education. In her role as Assistant Dean, Dr. Gaskins has revamped the summer bridge program to increase student support and retention as well as developed and strengthened partnerships  with local area school districts to aid in the high school to college pathway.

In 2009, she founded The Gaskins Foundation, a non-profit organization, whose mission is to educate and empower the African American community. Her foundation launched the Cincinnati STEMulates year-round K-12 program, which is a free of charge program that will introduce more students to math and science. She was named the 2017 K-12 Champion by the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (NAMEPA) and a 2021 Cincinnati Lifts Inclusion and Minority Business awardee. 

Continuing with her commitment to community involvement, Whitney has been actively involved in the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) since 2003. Within this organization of more than 30,000 members, she thrives to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers, who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community. In 2013, she served as the organization’s Annual Convention Planning Chairperson where she developed, planned, organized, and executed the second largest Annual Convention in NSBE history for over 9,200 attendees and raised over $3,000,000 to support the organization’s programmatic efforts. She currently serves as an advisor for the organization. In 2015, Dr. Gaskins was awarded the Janice A Lumpkin Educator of the Year Golden Torch Award. In 2019, she was recognized by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber as a Black History Maker. She was a recipient of the Dr. Terry Kershaw Faculty Excellence Award and the Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Cincinnati for her innovative honors course Sticky Innovation (stickyinnovation.com). She was inducted in the 40 under 40 class of 2019 and was recognized as a 2021 Career Woman of Achievement. In 2022 she was honored as a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, A Leader in Engineering Education by the Women Engineering Proactive Network and A Woman who Means Business by the Cincinnati Business Courier.

Whitney is an active member in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She previously served as President of her undergraduate chapter (Omicron) and transitioned into the Sigma Omega graduate chapter where she also served as President.  Dr. Gaskins was twice named an Outstanding President and led her chapter to be named 1st place in Political Impact, 1st place in Connections, 1st Place in Undergraduate/Graduate Relations, recipient of the Great Lakes Regional Directors Award, and 1st Place in Educational Enrichment/ASCEND program youth programming.

Dr. Gaskins is also a member of The Links, Incorporated where she currently serves as Vice-President of the Queen City (OH) Chapter as well as an international Scott-Hawkins Leadership Fellow. She also serves as the National Chair- Elect of NAMEPA, Inc..