WASHINGTON — The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today that, following a national search, Carlotta M. Arthur will join the organization as the new executive director of its Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education on Feb. 14, 2022.

Arthur comes to the National Academies from the Henry Luce Foundation, where she serves as director of its Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Program for Women in STEM, which provides significant support for women in science, mathematics, and engineering in higher education and has made more than $200 million in grants since its inception. During her tenure, Arthur has expanded the national and global profile of CBL and the Luce Foundation’s activities to transform STEM systems and structures through the lens of equity and inclusion. Under Arthur’s leadership, the Luce Foundation was a sponsor of the National Academies’ study on Sexual Harassment of Women in Academia. Prior to her time at the Luce Foundation, Arthur served as director of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and as program officer of diversity initiatives at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

“Dr. Arthur’s national and global relationships with women scholars, passion for a wide range of issues at the intersection of people and technology, and extensive experience with the full cycle of philanthropic funding as both a sponsor and a grantee, will be extremely valuable for the National Academies,” said Gregory Symmes, chief program officer of the National Academies. “I am pleased to bring Dr. Arthur on board as executive director, and I look forward to her applying her broad expertise and deep experience working with business, philanthropy, and academia to guide our Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.”

Trained as an engineer and after working 10 years in the private sector, Arthur earned a doctorate in clinical psychology and is a licensed psychologist in New York. She held an assistant professor position at Meharry Medical College, an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Smith College, and an adjunct assistant professor position at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. She is a member of the board of trustees of the Helene Fuld College of Nursing, a 75-year-old nursing college in Harlem, and an advisory board member for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Lemelson Center for Invention and Innovation. Over the last 13 years, Arthur has consulted with the World Health Organization’s Pan American Health Organization and private clients on issues related to education leadership; equity, diversity, and inclusion; behavioral health; and psychology.

Arthur was the first African American woman to earn a B.S. in metallurgical engineering from Purdue University. She completed her M.A. in psychology and Ph.D. in clinical psychology, with an emphasis on psychophysiology/health psychology, from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Arthur was a member of the inaugural cohort of W.K. Kellogg Scholars in Health Disparities at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.

Contact:
Dana Korsen, Director of Media Relations
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; news@nas.edu