Evelynn M. Hammonds

Evelynn M. Hammonds
Born	1953
Title	Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of History of Science and Professor of African and African American Studies
Academic background
Education	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Alma mater	Harvard University Spelman College Georgia Institute of Technology
Academic work
Discipline	History
Sub discipline	Science; African-American studies; Women studies
Institutions	Harvard University

Evelynn M. Hammonds (born 1953) is an American feminist and scholar. She is the Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of History of Science and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and former Dean of Harvard College. The intersections of race, gender, science and medicine are prominent research topics across her published works. Hammonds received degrees in engineering and physics. Before getting her PhD, in the History of Science at Harvard she was a computer programmer. She began her teaching career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, later moving to Harvard. In 2008, Hammonds was appointed dean, the first African-American and the first woman to head the College. She returned to full-time teaching in 2013.

Hammonds was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1953. Her mother was a schoolteacher, and her father was a postal worker. She grew up in the time right after segregation and dealt with the many racial issues of this time throughout her childhood. Hammonds attended public school in the South, and in 1976 earned her first two degrees. She earned a bachelor's degree in physics (1976) from Spelman College. She also earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1976 from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She then went on to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earning a master's degree in physics in 1980.

She went to work as a software engineer for five years. However, she did not enjoy her work environment and thus returned to academic life. In 1993 Hammonds earned a doctorate degree in the history of science from Harvard University. At that time, MIT also invited Hammonds to teach. While she was there, she was a founding director of MIT's center for the Study of Diversity in Science, Technology, and Medicine. She also helped organize the first national academic conference for black female scholars, Black Women in the Academy: Defending Our Name 1894-1994.

In 2002 she returned to Harvard and joined as a professor in the departments of the History of Science and of African and African American Studies. She received the title of Dean at Harvard College in 2008 and was the 4th black woman to receive tenure within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. Hammonds was also named senior vice provost for Faculty Development and Diversity. Harvard's announcement of her appointment referred to her role advising the provost and "encourag[ing] the recruitment and advancement of outstanding women and underrepresented minority faculty"

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