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Newly Tenured Professors and Faculty Presidential Awards Announced During 2020-2021 Virtual Opening Convocation

The 2020-2021 academic year officially kicked off Thursday, Aug. 20, during the first-ever virtual Opening Convocation.

Following greetings and remarks from Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., newly tenured and full professors were announced, and four professors were honored with faculty presidential awards.

Faculty members Lynn Maxwell, Ph.D., Robert Brown, Ph.D., and Yan Xu, Ph.D., among the College’s newly tenured associate professors.

In addition, eight professors were announced as newly appointed full professors: mathematic professor Naiomi Cameron, Ph.D.;  Raquel Hill, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Computer and Information Sciences Department; Lisa Hibbard, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Nami Kim, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Philosophy & Religious Studies DepartmentKasahun Woldemariam, Ph.D., professor of political science; Myra Greene, chair of the Art & Visual Culture Department and photography program director; Karen Brakke, Ph.D., professor of psychology; and Aditi Pai, Ph.D., co-director of the Teaching Resource & Research Center and professor of biology.

Faculty Presidential Awards were also awarded during the convocation. Dongfang Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, earned an Excellence in Scholarship Award; Veta Goler, Ph.D., chair and co-director of the Teaching Research and Resource Center, and associate professor of dance performance and choreography, earned an Excellence in Service Award; and Anastasia Valecce, Ph.D., associate professor of Spanish, was honored with an Excellence in Mentoring Award. Shanya Cordis, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology & anthropology, was recognized with the Vulcan Materials Company Teaching Excellence Award.

During her remarks, Dr. Campbell announced that there are about 600 new first-year and transfer students. Nearly 2,100 students are registered for fall semester.
Spelman Student Government Association Shares Non-Partisan Voting Resources During New Student Orientation

During Spelman's first-ever virtual New Student Orientation, the College's Student Government Association hosted a virtual voter registration event to inspire incoming students to get out and vote.

To open the event, Stacey Abrams, C’95, and Dr. Bernice King, C’85, shared reflections on their voting experiences when they were students at Spelman.
Following opening remarks, the SSGA led a five-person panel discussion where panelists answered a wide range of questions related to the upcoming election.

Panelists included: Tyra Beaman, C'2016, US Foreign Service Officer and political strategist for the Joseph and Evelyn Lowery Institute; Kia Sims, an organizer at Fair Fight Action; Helen Butler, executive director of the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda; Amari Fennoy, C'2018, the NAACP College and Youth president; and Allie Cashel, engagement partner at Democracy Works and TurboVote representative.

Students wanted to know how they could find unbiased information about those running for political office, said Nia Dumas, C’2022, SSGA director of Leadership and Civic Engagement.

“One participant even asked if there was a course pertaining directly to voting and voting policies,” said Dumas. “The panelists answered a wide range of questions and were extremely informed on issues pertaining to elections and voting.”

Students seeking additional guidance and information can find information on Spelman.edu.

 
Campus Highlights

Julie B. Johnson, Ph.D., lecturer in the Department of Dance Performance and Choreography is among the inaugural cohort class of a three-year initiative created by Alternate ROOTS.

The initiative, Partners for Change, awards participants $25,000 a year, for three years of the program, as well as matching dollars in technical assistance, support and peer learning.

Dr. Johnson’s project, “Idle Crimes & Heavy Work,” illuminates the criminalization of Black women’s bodies, the erasure of Black women from discourses of incarceration, and the role their labor played in building the infrastructure of the south.

The project is in collaboration with artist and educator Tambra Omiyale Harris and dance collective Giwayen Mata.

Dr. Johnson will discuss her research related to incarceration during Spelman Speaks: Examining Systemic Injustices in the Criminal Justice System at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 25.Registration is open to the community via Zoom.

The 60-minute conversation will address how to elevate social justice in the corridors and chambers of  the criminal justice system, as well as reveal and respond to the often invisible plight of women within correctional institutions throughout the country.
 
Alumnae Highlights

Tagan Horton, C’2019, and Leah Proctor-Ford, C’2018, will represent Spelman as part of an entrepreneurial fellowship program.

Venture for America, a two-year fellowship program for recent college grads who want to work at a startup and create jobs in American cities, helps fellows learn important hard and soft business skills and develop connections within the VFA network that can be used to start companies of their own.  

Horton's varied interests and entrepreneurial background made her an ideal candidate for Venture For America, which places talented college graduates in two-year fellowships at startups across 14 U.S. cities.

"I wasn't able to accomplish everything I wanted to due to limitations," Horton told Crain’s Cleveland Business, which recently highlighted her accomplishments. "That made me realize I really care about solving problems, and entrepreneurship could be the route by which I could do that."


For Proctor-Ford, the goal has always been to become a corporate executive and create equity at the intersection of media and tech.

She once said about choosing to attend Spelman, "The best part about Spelman is that it encourages its students to tell their stories and live in their truth no matter how far it strays from the norm. I had the privilege of learning from and relating to incredible people and I cherish Spelman for that."

Events
 

July 14 - Nov. 12

November 20
Official End of Semester

November 26-27
Thanksgiving Holiday (College Closed)

Spelman Scenes
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