Three female students attended Wentworth when humanities professor Lois Ascher joined the faculty. Forty-six years later, Ascher leaves a lasting impression as the first female professor at the Institute. Her story of finding career success, as well as love with fellow professor Frank Rooney, was featured last year in The Boston Globe at the time of Rooney’s passing. She has served on the board of directors for the West End Museum in Boston, published numerous academic papers, and continues to lead talks about urban renewal and other topics.
Upon her retirement in 2017, Ascher had taught nearly 1,000 female Wentworth students and worked alongside numerous women leading academic departments and serving at the very top levels of leadership.
Ascher’s strong legacy continued this year with the respective advancement of Cristina Cosma (Myles and Eugenia Sweeney Department of Construction Management) and Gloria Ma (Department of Mechanical Engineering) to full professorships.
Ma, who began her Wentworth career in 2008 and earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Cosma has taught at Wentworth since 2004 and holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Florida, where she also taught after graduation.
— Greg Abazorius
