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Spelman College President Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., received an honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters from Syracuse University during their 2021 Commencement ceremonies, held virtually on Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23.

Acknowledged for her distinguished academic career and advocacy work in arts and humanities, Dr. Campbell was honored alongside retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Peggy Combs, a highly respected U.S. Army commander and pioneer for women in the military; and Joseph A. Strasser, an exemplary public servant in fiscal management.

Dr. Campbell’s professional commitment to the arts and public policy took root at Syracuse, where she became the art editor at the "Syracuse New Times." She earned an M.A. in art history and a Ph.D. in humanities from the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse, and served as the assistant curator of art history at the Everson Museum of Art. In addition, she was one of the founders of the University’s Community Folk Art Center.

Following her time at Syracuse, Dr. Campbell served as executive director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem. Under her leadership, the organization was recognized as a linchpin in the economic revitalization of New York City's 125th Street corridor and a major center for the study of the visual arts of the Black Atlantic. She served as the Cultural Affairs Commissioner in New York City before becoming dean of the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, a post she held for 23 years.

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Campbell vice-chair of the President’s Committee in the Arts and Humanities. She retired from her position as dean at NYU a year before coming to Spelman as president.
Christmas Carol Concert Earns Southeast Emmy Nomination

For the first time in its long history, the annual Spelman-Morehouse Christmas Carol Concert was edited into a one-hour performance that mixed past concert favorites with virtual choir performances.

Two members of Spelman’s staff are named among the nominees for the 2021 Southeast Regional EMMY® Awards for their exemplary role in producing, editing and organizing the virtual holiday event.

Bryan Simmons, manager of enterprise media services and Valentine Williamson, Glee Club program coordinator, received a nomination in the edited special event coverage category for the 94th Annual Spelman-Morehouse Christmas Carol Concert.

Kennard Garrett, director of
multimedia services for Morehouse College, and Atlanta area producer and director Tabari Sturdivant are also included in the nomination. Winners will be announced Saturday, June 19.

The concert streamed virtually on Spelman.edu, as well as on the Spelman College Facebook page and the Morehouse College YouTube channel on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.

Campus Highlights
New Journal Highlights Stories of Perseverance

Each year students enrolled in the Spelman Independent Scholars Program gather stories of their elders to be preserved in a written time capsule.

Interviews are usually done in person, allowing students to have an intergenerational experience.

Last year, when the project started in March 2020, students were headed to the Bahamas to interview centenarians and conduct research. However, before they could board the plane, their trip was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"They Saw the Sun First," the first online journal to give voice and visibility to the elders involved in the SIS Oral History Project, was created by students from home, during the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic.

The journal begins with a dedication to Jane E. Smith, Ph.D., C'68.

"For every single assignment they would have completed on their research trip, they completed three. They managed to do this from home spaces refashioned into classrooms. They were scholars who became magicians working with love," said Gloria Wade Gayles, Ph.D., founding director of the SIS Oral History Project and professor of English. "It is, therefore, appropriate that from this moment into perpetuity, each issue of the journal will acknowledge them as editors of 'They Saw The Sun First.'"

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Alumnae Highlights

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alumna Honored for STEM Advocacy and Named Endowed Engineering Chair

In addition to recently being named the Lawrence Giacoletto Endowed Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, Carlotta Berry, Ph.D., C’ 92, received the TechPoint Foundation for Youth Bridge Builder Award.

The Bridge Builder Award recognizes leaders who help underserved students gain access to learning opportunities that will inspire their pursuit of STEM careers. Berry received the honor in April during TechPoint’s 22nd Annual Mira Awards gala.

"I became interested in becoming an engineering professor 20 years ago while sitting in class and realizing that I had never had a professor who looked like me, acted like me, or even seemed interested in me," said Dr. Berry. "I wanted to change the face of engineering by showing that the profession could be cool, interesting, exciting, engaging, and, most importantly, diverse."

A professor of electrical and computer engineering, Dr. Berry has been committed to excellence and innovation in multidisciplinary robotics education, research and outreach. Her term as the endowed chair begins Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021.
 
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