Meet the Leader: Carlotta M. Arthur, PhD
Interviewed by Birgit Smith Burton
I considered it an honor and indeed a pleasure to spend an hour getting to know Dr. Carlotta Arthur.
Carlotta M. Arthur, PhD is many things. You may know her as the program director for the Henry Luce Foundation’s Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Program, where she directs the foundation’s efforts to support women in science, mathematics, and engineering in higher education in the United States. Arthur joined the Luce Foundation in 2012. Since then, she has deftly led CBL, which is the most significant source of private support for women in STEM disciplines in higher education in the nation. In her role, she leads the program, conducts strategic planning, manages all grant making and administration, and consults current and prospective grantees, among other responsibilities.
In addition to being a philanthropic leader, she is an engineer and a licensed psychologist. Arthur was the first African American woman to earn a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Purdue University. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Arthur has provided leadership and volunteer service through her involvement with the Society of Women Engineers Research Advisory Committee and the American Psychological Association Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology Advisory Committee.