Boston-based Harvard Medical School professor Paula A. Johnson, MD, has been named president of Wellesley (Mass.) College, according to The Harvard Crimson.
Dr. Johnson is a professor of epidemiology at Harvard and one of the founders of the Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Additionally, Dr. Johnson will serve as Wellesley's first African American president.
In her new role, she is looking forward to emphasizing the importance of female leadership. "We're at a point in time where women's leadership is finally being recognized as really transformative to the world and there's also increasing inequity," Dr. Johnson said during a recent interview, according to the report. "So, there's a real opportunity for Wellesley to play an even more significant role in the education of women."
Dr. Johnson will take over for H. Kim Bottomly, PhD, the current president of Wellesley College, who will step down in July.