Editor’s Note: March is National Women’s History Month, throughout the month in our People in the News section, we are spotlighting Women Making History.
Dr. Monica F. Cox is a native of Newville, Alabama, and the only child of a first-grade teacher and a K-12 administrator. Dr. Cox followed her parents in a career in academics, choosing the non-traditional path of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). She is a trailblazer in discipline that historically has not featured many females or African-Americans.
She was different because herparents noticed their daughter’s aptitude for math, and enrolled her in engineering summer programs for high school students. This was followed by community college classes at the age of 16. She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class with enough completed college credits to begin her full time college career at the legendary Spellman College classified as a sophomore.
The young Ms. Cox studied in NASA’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, ultimately earning a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s in industrial engineering from the University of Alabama. From there she earned her Ph.D. in Leadership and Policy Studies from Vanderbilt University. She achieved this without acquiring a mountain of student loans, instead earning all three college degrees debt free.
Following six years as an associate professor in the School of Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., in 2011 Dr. Cox became the first African-American female professor to earn tenure in the College of Engineering at Purdue. These are just a few of her achievements that led to an invitation from the White House and the Office of First Lady Michelle Obama to serve on a panel highlighting the importance of workplace flexibility for scientists and engineers.
Dr. Cox is not only focused on educating some of the best minds in the country at Purdue, she is helping others through STEMinent LLC and her “Prepared to Be a Pioneer” program. She also is an author, businesswoman, creator of an animated STEM YouTube series (Quirky Time), as well as in the fashion business.
Dr. Moncia Cox is a Woman Making History with many more achievements and honors. Please visit PreparedToBeAPioneer.com to learn more.
