Monday, February 13, 2006; B06
Barbara J.A. Gordon, 73, executive director of the MIT Club of Washington and a former administrator at American University, died of cancer Feb. 6 at her home in Bethesda.
Dr. Gordon was the first executive director of the organization that oversees activities for the 6,000 graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who reside in the Washington area. Since she started in 1993, membership has doubled and more than 60 events have been held each year.
Previously, she had worked at American University for 14 years in a variety of roles as a researcher and administrator. Dr. Gordon's research focused on how to increase the involvement of girls in mathematics and science, how to encourage gifted girls and women to pursue higher education and student financial aid.
Dr. Gordon, who also had her own consulting firm, worked on the first in-depth evaluation of the Title I program, which provides federal aid to states for the education of disadvantaged children. She also worked on the implementation and evaluation of Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in public schools. In addition, she analyzed the performance of the Adult Basic Education and Early Childhood programs.
Dr. Gordon was born in Syracuse, N.Y., and graduated from the State University of New York at Cortland. She received her master's degree in 1954 and her doctorate in 1959, both at Cornell University in counseling and psychology.
She lived in Boston, New Jersey, Turkey and Rochester, N.Y., before settling in Bethesda 39 years ago.
At AU, she worked as associate director in the Office of Graduate Affairs and Admissions, Fulbright program advisor and compliance officer for research, grants and contracts. She had also been a research associate professor and senior program officer in the School of Education.
Dr. Gordon served for seven years as a gubernatorial appointee to the Maryland Commission for Women, was president of the Maryland division of the American Association of University Women and president of several professional counseling associations. She was elected as the Maryland delegate to the 1977 National Women's Conference.
She was a member of the choir and women's groups at the Bethesda United Methodist Church.
Survivors include her husband of 49 years, Kenneth Gordon of Bethesda; two children, Gaile Gordon of Palo Alto, Calif., and Mark Gordon of Temple Terrace, Fla.; and four grandchildren.