
Dr. Whitney Gaskins
A mentor, adviser, and community activist, Dr. Whitney Gaskins has dedicated her life to motivation and philanthropic endeavors.
Dr. Gaskins is an assistant professor 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 and her Masters of Business Administration in Quantitative Analysis, both from the University of Cincinnati. She earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering/Engineering Education. Her dissertation “Changing the Learning Environment in the College of Engineering and Applied Science: The impact of Educational Training on Future Faculty and Student-Centered Pedagogy on Undergraduate Students” was the first of its kind at the university. Whitney has been recognized by the National Technical Association (NTA) for her novel approach to studying students, specifically underrepresented minorities and women.
In 2009, she founded The Gaskins Foundation, a non-profit organization, whose mission is to educate and empower the African American community. Her foundation recently 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.
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
Whitney is an active member in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She previously served as President of her undergraduate chapter (Omicron) and has transitioned into the Sigma Omega graduate chapter where she serves as President. As president Dr. Gaskins led the chapter to win Outstanding President, 1st place Political Impact, 1t place Connections, 1st Place Undergraduate/Graduate Relations, Great Lakes Regional Directors Award, and 1st Place Educational Enrichment ASCEND program award.
Dr. Gaskins is also a member of the Links, Women’s Alliance, the National Technical Association, The Biomedical Engineering Society and the National Alliance of Black School Educators amongst other activities. She is Deaconess at New Friendship Baptist Church in Avondale. Whitney was recognized in the 2013 and 2014 Edition of Who’s Who in Black Cincinnati.