Dr. Wanda Austin a black female role model

A lot of times people get excited over African American entertainers who have made it big, but black folk in this nation have always sang and danced. I personally don’t consider sports figures as true role models because their success is based on their physical capabilities and for some, natural born athletic abilities. This is something that’s always been acknowledged and causes me to reflect upon my childhood. I recall often hearing older black people say that whites believed that black people learned to run fast in the African jungles.

This is something that also was stated in movies about slavery. For this reason I have always felt that our race was expected to excell in certain areas. I mean no disrespect to anyone’s chosen field, but this is why I prefer to shine the spotlight on those whose achievements are rare in a specific location. Those who are both black and female have twice as much adversity coming their way. Dr. Wanda M. Austin is such an individual as she is a former president and chief executive officer of The Aerospace Corporation.

She was the first black personality as well as the first female to over hold this prestigious position. She is considered a leading architect for the nation’s national security space programs. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position. Dr. Austin assumed this position in January 1, 2008. and retired in 2016. She previously was the senior Vice President for the company’s National Systems Group. This is where there is support given to the national security space and intelligence community in acquisitions of launch and orbit operations of advanced technology space systems aling with their ground data stations.

The Aerospace Corporation has close to 4,000 employees and an annual revenue of more than $850 million.From June 1, 2001 until December 2003 Dr. Auustin was the senior VP of Special Studies. From January 1 to April 1, 2004, she became the senior vice president of Special Studies. From January 1 to April 1, 2004, she was the vice president of the Engineering and Technology Group, where she directed a staff of 1,000 scientists and engineers who were involved in a wide range of space-related disciplines.

This is impressive for a black female to achieve such heights in a white male dominated workforce. Dr. Austin is a member of the International Academy of Adtronauts and the National Academy of Engineering. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Franklin & Marshall College, and a master’s degrees in systems engineering and mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh. She received aa doctorate in systems engineering from the University of Southern California. Dr. Austin has also received a number of prestigious citations and awards.

These include the Airforce Space and Missile Systems Center, Martin Luther King Sourit of the Dream Award, the National Reconnaissance Office Gold Medal, the 2009 Black Engineer Award and the National Intelligence Medallion for Meritorious Service, plus the the Air Force Scroll of Achievement. Dr. Austin is listed as being born in 1954, in New York City but there is no record of the month or date of her birth and no parents listed. I could find no information regarding marriage or children. What is important, however, is the fact that she has accomplished so much as an African American woman.

On August 7, 2018, she was named the interim president for the University of Southern California after the resignation of C. L. Max Nikias. The university's permanent replacement, Carol Folt, succeeded her in 2019. The University was so impressed with her leadership during the time of transition, the created an endowed scholarship in her name. Dr. Wanda Wise is an inspiration to all of us, especially women of color. Her achiements are proof positive that a female, a black woman, can gain respect and credibility in what has previously been considered as a white man’s domain.