March 28 : Celebrate Founders Day - Stronger Together: Upholding Our Legacy

Spelman Founders Day is approaching. Celebrations kick-off with a virtual History and Traditions Convocation, which will feature a panel discussion with an intergenerational group of alumnae engaged in conversation with a student moderator at 11 a.m. ET, Thursday, March 31 on Zoom.

Alumnae are encouraged to join the Alumnae Celebration from 6 - 8 p.m. ET, on Wednesday, April 6 at the Renaissance Gateway Hotel, Atlanta, GA, for a special evening, complete with a 2022 awardees tribute.

Celebrations continue with the 141st Founders Day Convocation, from 10 - 11 a.m. ET, Thursday, April 7, in Sisters Chapel. Tune-in virtually to commemorate the founding of Spelman through reflections, performances and the traditional laying of the wreaths on the plaques of Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles.

On Sunday, April 10 at 1 p.m., join the community for a special livestreamed worship service featuring the Reverend Andrea Lewis, Ph.D., C’96, associate minister of Big Bethel A.M.E., Atlanta.

The event will culminate with a special edition of Courageous Conversations : Black in the C-Suite featuring Cara Johnson Hughes, C’2003, vice president of customer and community for Baldwin Richardson Foods, Spelman Trustee and her sister Erin Tolefree, C’2001, president of Baldwin Richardson Foods, in conversation with Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman College.

For a full schedule of Founders Day events visit Spelman.edu.

Spelman's Food Studies Program, in collaboration with Food Tank, will present its annual Food Justice Summit from 6 - 7 p.m. ET, Thursday, March 31 on Zoom.

This year's theme : "Roots, Resistance & Reclamation," will center on Black women who are change makers in the global and local food system.

Topics of discussion include the preservation of African Diasporic roots in agriculture, using artificial intelligence to resist traditional food production practices, and reclaiming/retaining stolen land for Black farmers.

Confirmed Speakers include Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman College; Julia Collins, founder and CEO of Moonshot Snacks and Planet FWD and Gabrielle E. W. Carter, a multi-disciplinary artist and cultural preservationist who uses food as a vehicle to reimagine wealth, marginalized food systems, and inheritance.

Professor Receives ACS Award for Excellence in STEM

Prolific scholar-teacher Kimberly M.Jackson, Ph.D., was honored in San Diego, California at the American Chemical Society National Meeting, where she received the 2022 ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences.

This international award, sponsored by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, acknowledges the “outstanding accomplishments in mentoring, teaching and opening doors for Black women to achieve Ph.D.s and pursue careers in the chemical and biochemical sciences.”

"Every day I have the privilege to work in a place where I train scholars who look like me and create legacy-defining moments," said Dr. Jackson. "As a bridge leader, I advocate for, cultivate, and empower Black women to become dynamic scientists by helping them understand their identity relative to society, while navigating the double bind of being minority women in science."

Alumna Leads to Lead Cultural Affairs for City of New York

Laurie Cumbo, C'97, was recently appointed as the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of New York by Mayor Eric Adams.

Cumbo previously served as majority leader in the New York City Council and represented the City Council’s 35th district for eight years. She wrote over forty laws and resolutions in that role, including creating the first-ever Mayor’s Office to End Gun Violence and the Mayor’s Office of Victim Services.

Prior to her time in the City Council, Cumbo founded MoCADA in Brooklyn and previously worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the High Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.