August 23 : Spelman NSO 2022 Recap

The start of the Fall 2022 Semester is off to a spirited start, including the past week of New Student Orientation activity! "Undaunted by the Fight" was more than just a theme. It was demonstrated by all who attended the welcoming events and as well our returning students.

From move-in to Joint Convocation and everywhere in between, the Spelman community showed up and celebrated the arrival of the class of 2026 with an unmatched sense of excitement and familial fellowship.

For Dr. Gayle, who addressed the students for the first time as the 11th president of Spelman College, NSO also served as a great showcase of the College’s commitment to students and the reverence of its history and traditions.

In her remarks at Opening Convocation, Dr. Gayle stated:

"Thank you all for being so gracious in welcoming me into this, this incredible community of students, faculty, administration, staff, Trustees and alumnae. You have all made me feel so at home. And these few weeks are starting to give me a sense and appreciation for the many facets of the Spelman experience…As I have been getting acclimated to Spelman and my new role as president, one of the things I am most grateful for is the privilege of joining an institution that is already thriving. I don’t take this privilege for granted because it is not always the case for new leaders…I am fortunate that this is an institution with a long history of excellence – a track record of achievement and success that has been shaped and led by outstanding leaders since the College was founded in 1881."

Once again, welcome students, staff, and faculty back to Spelman College, and we look forward to another historic academic year!

A moving and reverberating presentation, Lava Thomas: Homecoming is now on view at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.

Curated by Bridget R. Cooks, associate professor of African American studies and art history at the University of California, Irvine, Homecoming addresses the relevance of African American history to our current moment.

With a variety of drawing techniques, Lava Thomas creates large portraits inspired by photographs of remarkable African American people, to tackle issues of representation and memorialization. Her multidisciplinary practice includes painting, photography, sculpture and site-specific installations.

Thomas was born in Los Angeles, CA. She studied at UCLA’s School of Art Practice and received a BFA from California College of the Arts. In addition, she is a recipient of the 2020 San Francisco Artadia Award and a 2019-2021 Lucas Artists Fellowship Award at Montalvo Arts Center. Most recently, Thomas has participated in artist residencies at Facebook Los Angeles (2020), Headlands Center for the Arts (2018) and the Djerassi Resident Artist Program, and her work has been exhibited in various institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., the International Print Center, New York, NY; the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA; the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA; and the California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA.

Across media, Thomas centers ideas that amplify visibility, healing and empowerment in the face of erasure, trauma and oppression. Lava Thomas: Homecoming brings together thirteen drawings from Thomas’ revelatory series Mugshot Portraits: Women of the Montgomery Bus Boycott (2018–), the multimedia installation Looking Back (2015), and Decatur (2022), a new set of drawings and prints marking its debut in the exhibition.

Prior to coming to Spelman College Museum of Art, Homecoming was previously on view at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in historic Montgomery, Alabama. Considered the most comprehensive exhibition to date of this contemporary artist’s drawing and installation works, this is one you don’t want to miss.

For more information, or to experience Homecoming though the fall semester, visit the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.

Rev. Dr. Ingrid Tucker, C’88, recently joined the Campaign for Catholic Schools Board of Trustees. As a member of the Board, Rev. Dr. Tucker will oversee the work of the Campaign for Catholic Schools, a fifteen-year-old non-profit charged with rebuilding urban Catholic elementary education in the Archdiocese of Boston.

Rev. Dr. Tucker currently serves as Deputy Director of Madison Park Development Corporation, a leading developer of affordable housing in the Nubian Square area of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Previously, Rev. Dr. Tucker headed The Cambridge Montessori School and has also served as President of Mother Caroline Academy and Education Center (MCAEC) in Dorchester, a tuition-free middle school for low-income girls in Boston.

Following her time at Spelman, Rev. Dr. Thomas earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from Clark Atlanta University and a doctorate in education from Boston College Lynch School of Education.

She and her husband, Phillip, are the co-founders and Pastors of Awaken Christian Church, have four adult children and are residents of Milton, Massachusetts.