June 22: Spelman's President Joins Guild Education Advisory Board

Spelman's President Joins Guild Education Advisory Board

Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman College, will join the new Guild Education Advisory Board, which will bring together leaders from business and education to support the company’s mission and drive key insights.

An education platform that up-skills workers, Guild prepares organizations for the future through online classes. Through its innovative model, Guild enables adult learners to attend high-quality institutions debt free.

Members of the board will harness insights that will allow Guild to better serve its stakeholders, which include some of the country’s largest employers, and the most innovative and high-quality academic and learning providers.

"Improving access to education is critical as the country continues to recover from the pandemic. The American workforce will need to up-skill and re-skill to keep pace with the impact of technology and innovation in every industry," said Dr. Campbell. "I am honored to join the extraordinary leaders on the advisory board of Guild Education. Their appreciation of diverse experiences and expertise will translate into more adult learners being able to advance their careers through education."

Spelman Included in Initiative to Diversify the Investment Industry

Apollo Global Management, Inc., Ares Management Corp., and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., will commit $90 million over 10 years to the industry-based "AltFinance: Investing in Black Futures™" initiative, created to diversify the alternative investment industry by attracting, training and providing career opportunities African American students.

"As the world begins to cautiously re-open, the alternative finance industry will play a significant role in how economies recover and thrive. The creativity and innovation that drive private equity and alternative-credit investing are the same characteristics present in our brilliant Spelman students," said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman. "We are grateful for the transformative investment Apollo Global Management Inc., Ares Management Corp., and Oaktree Capital Management L.P., are making in our scholars and their futures. Their partnership with Spelman will provide our students with invaluable scholarships and resources - and connect them to expertise, mentors and networks through their firms, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the Management Leadership for Tomorrow nonprofit – that will give them a competitive edge on their road to successful careers and lives."

Through three primary components, including a mentored fellowship program, a tailored virtual institute and a scholarship program, AltFinance will clear pathways to careers in the alternative investment industry. Fellowships will provide students with the opportunity to work directly with a mentor and learn the ins-and-outs of finance and alternatives. AltFinance fellows will also have access to needs-based scholarship funding.

Spelman Receives $5M from Google to Create Pathways into STEM

Spelman is one of 10 institutions to receive a $5 million grant from Google, designed to help create pathways and opportunities for increased diverse representation in the STEM industry. The one-time unrestricted financial grant will provide Spelman with financial support for scholarships, technological infrastructure support, career readiness and curriculum development.

A year ago, Google announced commitments to build sustainable equity for Google’s Black community and beyond, and to make its products and programs more helpful to Black users. Since then, the tech giant has been working to translate its commitments into lasting meaningful change. In an effort to broaden access to opportunities for underrepresented groups in STEM, Google is making a $50 million investment in historically Black colleges and universities across the country.

"Spelman students are immersed in technology across their curricular experiences, as well as in their everyday lives. As leaders, entrepreneurs, practitioners, and creators, they are at the forefront of innovation, which is critical to their success in every industry," said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman. "Google’s generous gift to create pathways in STEM for HBCU students will propel them into roles and opportunities that prepare them to be 21st century change agents. Having hosted Googlers from the Google-in-Residence program, and having seen the outcomes of our students who have interned at Google, and alumnae who are now employed by Google, we are grateful for their comprehensive approach to building equity in computing education."

Alumna and Rising Junior to Spend Summer Immersed in Research

A recent Spelman graduate and rising junior will enhance their knowledge of scientific research during the Georgia Institute of Technology summer research program.

Sophia Ellis, C’2023, and Isimeme Udu, C’2021, were selected to participate in the Georgia Tech Aquatic Chemical Ecology summer research program, which gives students an opportunity to perform exciting research with chemistry, biochemistry, earth sciences and engineering faculty.

The research internship is supported by the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Georgia Tech.

This summer, Ellis will work on a team focused on finding patterns in the genomic traits of bacteria living in different environments.

"Through this internship I have had the chance to enhance my coding skills, while also learning how to read and analyze scientific journals," said Ellis.

Udu, who is enrolling in the medical informatics program at Dartmouth College in the fall, applied for the program in order to gain more exposure to scientific techniques and mathematical modeling, she said.

"I am learning about how applicable math and programming are in biological concepts," she said. "Seeing all the things I can do now makes me excited for what I can do in the future!"

Alumna Appointed Dean of Emory University Laney Graduate School

Kimberly Jacob Arriola, Ph.D., MPH, C’96, executive associate dean for academic affairs in the Rollins School of Public Health and a Charles Howard Candler Professor, has been appointed dean of Emory University's Laney Graduate School.

Her appointment is effective Sept. 1, 2021. Dr. Arriola will also join the leadership team in the Office of the Provost as vice provost for graduate affairs.

All of Dr. Arriola's work focuses on improving the health of marginalized populations and communities of color. For the past nine years, she has served as principal investigator of an National Institutes of Health-funded project that seeks to develop and test a culturally-sensitive organ and tissue donation intervention for African American adults.

A summa cum laude graduate of Spelman, Dr. Arriola earned a doctoral degree in 1998 from Northeastern University, both in social psychology. She also earned a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology in 2001 from Emory.

Dr. Arriola joined the Department of Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences at Rollins as a senior faculty associate while still in her MPH program. In 2015, she was promoted to full professor and, a year later, Rollins Dean James Curran announced Dr. Arriola’s appointment as associate dean for academic affairs. In 2018, she was named Charles Howard Candler Professor and executive associate dean for academic affairs.