Astronaut, Alumna Joan Higginbotham to Speak at Spring Commencement

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Distinguished Florida Tech graduate Joan Higginbotham, who spent more than 300 hours in space as part of a critical shuttle mission to further build the International Space Station, will speak to graduates at Florida Tech’s spring commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 4.

Ceremonies begin at 9 a.m. with College of Engineering and Science undergraduate students. At 1 p.m., the ceremony will feature students from the Bisk College of Business and graduate students from the College of Engineering and Science. The day will conclude with a 5 p.m. ceremony for all students from the College of Aeronautics and the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts.

A live stream of all ceremonies will be available.

Higginbotham is a two-time Florida Tech graduate, earning her master’s degree in management in 1992 and a second master’s degree in space systems in 1996. She earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Florida Tech President John Nicklow will present Higginbotham with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at commencement.

Her career at NASA began in 1987, when she worked as payload electrical engineer in the electrical and telecommunications systems division at Kennedy Space Center. Within six months she became lead for the orbiter experiments on Space Shuttle Columbia. She later worked on payload bay reconfiguration for all shuttle missions and conducted electrical compatibility tests for all payloads.

After additional duties and roles, Higginbotham was promoted to lead orbiter project engineer for Space Shuttle Columbia. In this position, she held the technical lead government engineering position in the firing room where she supported and managed the integration of vehicle testing and troubleshooting. Overall, she actively participated in 53 space shuttle launches during her 9-year tenure at KSC.

She was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1996, where she conducted a series of critical technical duties across multiple operations, including Payloads & Habitability Branch, the Shuttle Avionics & Integration Laboratory, the Kennedy Space Center Operations Support Branch, and the Astronaut Office CAPCOM (Capsule Communicator) Branch.

In December 2006, she launched on Shuttle Discovery as a member of STS-116, becoming just the third African American woman to go into space. The nearly 13-day mission continued construction of the International Space Station by adding the P5 spacer truss segment. Higginbotham’s primary task was to operate the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, known more simply as the robotic arm.

In November 2007, Higginbotham retired after a 20-year distinguished career with NASA to pursue work in the private sector. What followed were high-profile roles at some of the nation’s leading companies, including Marathon Oil, Lowe’s Companies Inc., UTC Aerospace Systems and Collins Aerospace. In April 2022, she launched Joan Higginbotham Ad Astra, an aerospace consulting firm.

Higginbotham has been recognized throughout her career, earning such honors as an induction into National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s History Hall of Fame, being named one of Savoy Magazine’s Top Influential Women in Corporate America, and recognition by President George W. Bush at the 81st White House Black History Month celebration.

“Joan embodies all that it means to be a Florida Tech Panther: She’s brilliant, fearless, curious, driven, passionate and kind,” President Nicklow said. “We are thrilled to have her join us for spring commencement, and I know she will inspire our newest graduates as they embark on the next phase of their lives.”