Dr. Carolyn Meyers

Carolyn Winstead Meyers has been recognized for her contributions as an educator, mechanical engineer, and academic administrator. Upon receiving the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University in 1968, Dr. Meyers worked as an engineer for two divisions of General Electric. After relocating to Atlanta, Dr. Meyers received the Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1979 and the doctorate (Metallurgy, School of Chemical Engineering) in 1984 also from Georgia Tech. In 2016, Pardee Rand Graduate School awarded the honorary Doctor of Public Policy to Dr. Meyers.

Dr. Meyers was appointed as the first woman Dean of the College of Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University and later served for several years as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs there. In between appointments at A&T, Dr. Meyers served as a Program Officer of two divisions of the National Science Foundation. While in North Carolina and later in Virginia, she also served as a member of the Committee on Equal Opportunity in Science and Engineering (CEOSE), and member of three Advisory Committees for the NSF, member of the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Board of the Department of Energy, United States Air Force (USAF) Summer Faculty Fellow at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and the Advisory Board to RTI International as well as the Moses Cone Health Systems Trustees.

Dr. Meyers served as the fourth President of Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia for four years. While in the position, Dr. Meyers obtained the funding for the present new library and academic quadrangle new classroom buildings with its now landmark bell tower. Her most recent position prior to retirement was as the tenth president of Jackson State University (JSU) in Jackson, Mississippi. While there, Apple Inc. named JSU as an Apple Distinguished School for two consecutive periods, the campus was updated technologically (totally wireless, faculty and campus facilities were electronically enhanced), the campus Library was redesigned as a 21st century interactive learning facility, enrollment surged to the highest in JSU’s history, satellite campuses were opened, faculty and staff received regular raises, athletic teams won six conference championships, and research expenditures grew. And former First Lady Michelle Obama selected JSU for her last commencement speech in 2011.

Dr. Meyers has been featured in a wide range of honors and publications, including numerous editions of Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who of Emerging Leaders in America, and Who’s Who in the World. In addition, Dr. Meyers was selected for inclusion in the 7th edition of Who’s Who in American Education, as well as the 5th and 8th editions of Who’s Who in Science and Engineering. The legislatures of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Mississippi each cited her for excellence in leadership and in 1996, she was inducted into the Georgia Tech Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Currently, mostly retired, she is honored to serve as a member of the External Advisory Committee of the Center for the Advancement of STEM Leadership (CASL), a leader in transforming higher education in STEM to enhance our nation’s future and promise. She is the mother of three children and the grandmother of four.