Dec 28: Spelman's Top 5 Stories of 2020

Top Five Stories of 2020

Spelman College had a banner year of accomplishments, as well as milestones.

This special issue of the Spelman Connection features five of the top Spelman stories of 2020. We compiled this list by selecting stories that engaged the largest number of readers on Spelman.edu, in the news and via social media. The top stories include national rankings, transformative gifts and other accomplishments that demonstrate each theme of the College’s 2022 Strategic Plan.

We want to thank you for your support, and promise to keep you informed and connected to the Spelman sisterhood for years to come.

Happy New Year!

Spelman Jumps Several Spots in U.S. News & World Report’s College Rankings, Remains No. 1 HBCU
Spelman College moved up on multiple 2021 U.S. News & World Report college ranking lists. The College has increased its standing from No. 57 to No. 54 in the National Liberal Arts rankings. Five years ago, Spelman was No. 77. The rise is a testament to the College’s continued efforts to improve academic outcomes. "U.S. News & World Report’s rankings acknowledge the quality academic experience our outstanding faculty provide our students," said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., Spelman president. "We are especially proud of the recognition of undergraduate teaching, academic innovation and our ability to be effective as agents of social mobility."

$40M Gift From Patty Quillin and Reed Hastings Will Fund 200 Scholarships
Over the next 10 years, 200 first-year students will be able to attend Spelman College with a full, four-year scholarship thanks to a generous gift from philanthropists Patty Quillin and her spouse, Reed Hastings, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Netflix. Quillin and Hastings have awarded a total of $120 million to Spelman, Morehouse College and the United Negro College Fund. Each institution will receive $40 million. Spelman will use its allocation to fund a scholarship named for Dovey Johnson Roundtree, C’38, a civil rights and criminal defense attorney whose groundbreaking 1955 bus desegregation case helped dismantle the practice of separate but equal.

Frank Baker of Siris and Laura Day Baker to Pay Remaining Tuition for Nearly 50 Spelman College Seniors
Frank Baker, founder and managing partner of Siris, a leading private equity firm focused on investing and driving value creation in technology and telecommunications companies, and his wife, Laura Day Baker, an interior designer and philanthropist, focused on empowering historically underserved communities, gave a $1 million gift to clear the balances of a select group of 2020 graduates. The funding will also establish a scholarship for future students who need assistance paying their final tuition bills.

Spelman College to Kick Off Women’s Herstory Month by Hosting Atlanta Stop of Beyoncé Mass
Spelman College, in partnership with Columbia Theological Seminary, hosted the Beyoncé Mass on March 2, 2020, in Sisters Chapel. Created and curated by Rev. Yolanda Norton and H. Eugene Farlough, chair of Black church studies and assistant professor of Hebrew Bible at San Francisco Theological Seminary, the Beyoncé Mass uses music from the Grammy-winning songstress to cultivate an empowering conversation about Black women.

President Campbell Invites Community to Reflect and Discuss Unrest
In the wake of protests throughout the country, Spelman College President Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., highlighted societal injustices and shared her perspectives to encourage conversation with students, faculty, staff and parents in a series of letters to the community. "Understandably, we are grieving and angry. I challenge us now to let our grief and anger turn into determination," Dr. Campbell wrote on Sunday, May 31. "I challenge us to remember that in choosing Spelman, we have chosen a special place with a singular history."

AUC Woodruff Library Launches Website to Aid Statewide Disaster Response

The Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library received a grant to create a publicly accessible directory of Georgia's Natural, Cultural and Historical Organizations.

The grant from the LYRASIS Catalyst Fund makes it possible for emergency responders to retrieve critical location and contact information during a disaster response.

"This project elevates the importance of Georgia's cultural heritage caretakers and is a national model for emergency management during disasters," said Loretta Parham, CEO and director of the AUC Woodruff Library.

The mobile friendly website includes contact information and geographic coordinates for historic sites across the state, which will allow emergency workers to quickly search for locations by region and county in the event of a disaster.

Spelman Alumna Wins Prestigious Legal Writing Award

Teri McMurtry-Chubb, C’95, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago John Marshall Law School, will receive the 2021 Thomas F. Blackwell Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Legal Writing.

Created in 2002, the Blackwell Award honors the life of Thomas F. Blackwell for his personal and professional qualities as a legal writing educator. The award is one of the most prestigious honors in legal writing.

McMurtry-Chubb researches, teaches and writes in the areas of legal history and discourse, critical rhetoric and genre analysis. She has lectured nationally on structural discrimination in educational institutions and the workplace.

A leader in designing curricula that facilitates diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, McMurtry-Chubb previously served as president of the Association of Legal Writing Directors. She is the first person of color to head a national legal writing organization.