Robbin Chapman

Dr. Robbin Chapman is Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University and Adjunct Associate Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania. In 2016, MIT established the annual Dr. Robbin Chapman Excellence through Adversity Award to honor MIT seniors and MIT graduate students who have demonstrated excellence in leadership.

Dr. Chapman earned her S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she conducted research at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the MIT Media Laboratory. She earned her B.S. in Computer Science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. Her research interests include design and use of computational tools for learning in public spaces, and frameworks and technologies for supporting scholar activism.

Her publications include the book, The Computer Clubhouse: Constructionism and Creativity in Youth Communities and chapters in Counter-narratives from Women of Color Academics: Bravery, Vulnerability, and Resistance; Injecting Multidisciplinary Perspectives of Race and Gender for Diversification in STEM; Social Capital and Information Technology; Communities of Practice: Creating Learning Environments for Educators; and her latest journal article “Thrive Mosaic Developmental Framework: A Systems-Activist Approach to Marginalized STEM Scholar Success” published in American Behavioral Scientist.

Dr. Chapman completed a two-year term as Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer, appointed by the Sigma Xi International Honor Society of Science and Engineering. She serves as Massachusetts regional liaison and senior fellow for the Ford Foundation Fellowship Program, administered through the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.