Wanda Austin

thumb|Wanda Austin Wanda Austin (born 1954) is an American aerospace engineer. She is a former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position. Austin also served as interim president for the University of Southern California, following the resignation of C. L. Max Nikias. She was both the first woman, and the first African-American, to hold this position. Quotes I’d like to see the university take the wonderful things that are already happening and make them better. I want us to have that culture of: Yes, we did a good job, but if we work on it — if we try something a little different, if we bring in some other people — we can add another dimension to what we’ve already achieved. Wanda Austin's say on Where she would like to see the university at the end of her service as interim president First, honored, and then, “Oh my God.” (laughs) Obviously I’ve been on the Board of Trustees for a while, and we have been addressing the issues that you would expect in an enterprise of this size: strategically where we are going, what do we need to achieve and what’s important in terms of the investments we need to be making going forward. So, I thought to myself, “If there’s something I can do to help, I’m glad to do it. Wanda Austin's reaction when she was asked to become interim president In the workplace I was quick to understand that some people might be offended that I was female, that I was African-American, or that I was young, but I had to let that be their problem. The best thing I could do was just focus on doing a good job, and let my work speak for me. If someone said something offensive to me, I just let it be. I refused to pick up the stone and put it in my knapsack. External links Category:Aerospace engineers from the United States Category:Chief executive officers Category:Businesswomen from the United States Category:African Americans Category:People from New York City Category:1954 births Category:Women born in the 1950s Category:Living people