Thank-you to Spelman Community : SACSCOC Reaffirmation of Accreditation

November 15, 2021

Spelman community,

We did it! Thanks to the efforts of the entire Spelman community, last week we completed the last step of our 2021 reaffirmation of accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges—SACSCOC.

This is a Herculean effort led by our Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Institutional Accreditation Liaison, Myra Burnett, Ph.D., but almost everyone has contributed in some way to Spelman’s reaffirmation. You paid attention to the accreditation standards in your day-to-day work, provided data and documents, wrote reports, evaluated how you might make improvements in what we do, re-wrote reports, showed outstanding hospitality to our visitors (They said so!), and displayed great Spelman pride and cooperation throughout the process.

THANK YOU for all that you contributed to our collective success!

Special acknowledgement to the 2021 Reaffirmation Leadership Team:

Terri Reed, Ph.D., governance
Dolores Bradley Brennan, Ph.D., educational program and faculty qualifications
Darryl Holloman, Ph.D., student affairs, student support services

Dawn Alston, finance and physical plant
Ayoka Chenzira, Ph.D, educational program
Tinaz Pavri, Ph.D., educational program

Leyte Winfield, Ph.D., educational program
Kathleen Phillips Lewis, Ph.D., educational program
Desiree Pedescleaux, Ph.D., educational program, student support services
Karen Brakke, Ph.D., educational program
Venetta Coleman, Ph.D., student learning outcomes and quality enhancement plan

In addition

John Wilson and the STS Team provided excellent reports on our institutional IT improvements, as well as technical support for the off-site and on-site meetings.

Helga Greenfield coordinated a collection of institutional policies in the MySpelman portal.

James Sanders provided extensive data on student achievement.

Ingrid Lassiter, Angela Wood, C'90, and Allison Howard updated the Spelman website often to ensure accurate information to the public.

Participants in the November 8 Verification Visit profoundly impressed the review team with their knowledge and enthusiasm about the Spelman experience. In addition to some already listed above, others included:

Ingrid Hayes, vice president of enrollment management

Andrea Lewis, Ph.D., professor of education, director of student success

Tiffany Oliver Ph.D., professor of biology

Tinaz Pavri, Ph.D., professor of political science, division chair for social sciences and education, chair of Asian studies program.

Art Frazier, director of facilities management and services
Silvia Maddox, assistant dean of students, student life and engagement
Chelsea Holley, director of admissions
Lenora Jackson, director of student financial services.

Finally, our students provided the strongest evidence possible of the impact of the Spelman experience. They conveyed with passion that they did not come to Spelman just to get a degree, but to become leaders. Yes! THANK YOU for making all of this worthwhile:

Alyssa Cabezas
Avane Ervin
Monique Vaz
Christina Guiterrez

Melina Watson
Grace Hall
Taylor Moorer
Janee Williams

Let’s all enjoy and celebrate this moment that affirms all of the hard work, commitment and love that we bring to our work at Spelman.

Let us also affirm our commitment to continued improvement in all that we do.

With sincere gratitude,