Wentworth
Institute of Technology
617-989-4040
This collection is currently unprocessed. For more information on the physical extent of the collection, please contact the Archivist.
This collection was transferred from the Office of the President. Transfer date after 2019. This collection is closed.
This collection is currently unprocessed. For more information, please contact the Archivist.
Zorica Pantić was born in 1951 in Serbia (then Yugoslavia).
Pantić earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Niš, Serbia in 1975, 1978, and 1982, respectively. She served as the founding dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and was director of the School of Engineering at San Francisco State University. She also was a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a faculty member at the University of Niš, Serbia. She is a graduate of the Harvard Institute for New Presidents (2005) and Experienced Presidents (2010).
On August 1, 2005, Pantić became Wentworth's fourth and first female President. By doing so, she became the first female engineer to head an institute of technology in the United States.
Under Pantić’s leadership, Wentworth saw several advancements for female identifying students on campus. In 2007, Wentworth hosted the first Women@Wentworth event. Professor Regina Berkman was the recipient of the Woman of the Year award. Shannon O’Brien, CEO of the Girl Scouts, was the keynote speaker. The event continues to be one of the most attended at the university and is celebrated on the anniversary of when women were admitted to Wentworth in 1972 each year. In 2017, the Schumann Fitness Center collaborated with the Center for Diversity & Social Justice Programs to implement designed for students who identity as women named Women Lifting Women. The collaboration was borne out of the need for a space where women could feel safe during working out. In 2018, Wentworth awarded the first Women@Wentworth Endowed Scholarship through a partnership with Consigli Construction. Consigli continues to be one of the top supporters of the scholarship.
Other groups of students also saw a number of improvements under her administration. In 2011, Admissions hosted a Multicultural overnight program to help with the recruitment of diverse students. The program was discontinued after 2012. In 2018, through Wentworth’s EPIC grant initiative, Professors Gloria Ma, Aaron Carpenter, Beth Anne Cooke-Cornell, and Juval Racelis came together to create and implement a workshop on the Impact of Social Conscious on Design Decision Making.
Military affiliated students also saw improvements. In 2017, Wentworth established two scholarships for ROTC and Veteran students. In 2019, a lounge and study space for Military-Connected students was established in Willson Hall. The space highlights an enduring commitment by Wentworth to support military affiliated students at the university.
Under her leadership, Wentworth introduced eight new undergraduate programs and five new master’s programs. Campus also grew. Two new residence halls, 525 Huntington and 610 Huntington were built or renovated. The Flanagan Campus Center, the Center for Sciences and Biomedical Engineering and the Center for Engineering, Innovation and Sciences (CEIS) were completed.
In part, due to Pantić’s efforts, in 2017, Wentworth Institute of Technology was granted university status.
Pantić retired as President of Wentworth on May 31, 2019, after 14 years of leadership.
Per the Archives Charter (1988): “Any record, in any format, produced by an employee of the Institute while performing an official Institute function, is the property of the Wentworth Institute of Technology.” Upon copyright transfer, all items become the permanent property of Wentworth Institute of Technology University Archives and are to be used in preserving and presenting the history of Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Some access restricted. For more information, please contact the Archivist.
Ashley Bryan, 2025; Mary Ellen Flaherty, 1985-2005.
Staples and other metal materials were removed. Any plastic, rubber band, or taped material was separated from paper (when able to be separated without damaging the materials) and discarded. Duplicate, non-unique copies of materials were withdrawn from the collection. Acidic or photographic materials were kept in their original order but were re-housed in mylar sleeves or leafing folders. Duplicate folders were re-labeled, re-organized, and re-foldered. Materials were kept in the original folder order: alphabetical by topic, and then chronological within specific folders. Folders were placed in new letter document boxes.
Include at least the following information:
Folder Name, date (Month, year), AC 19, Series number, Box number, Folder number, Office of the President Records (Pantić), Wentworth Institute of Technology University Archives, Boston, MA. URL if applicable.
Douglas D. Schumann Library & Learning Commons
Wentworth Institute of Technology
550 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115