April 25 : Spelman Announces Commencement Speaker

Spelman College recently announced the selection of its 135th Commencement speaker.

Alumna Stacey Yvonne Abrams, C '95, politician, lawyer and author will deliver the keynote address to graduates during 2022 commencement celebrations on Sunday, May 15, 2022, at 3 p.m., in the McCamish Pavilion on the campus of GA Tech. Abrams will also receive a 2022 National Community Service Award.

Abrams served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. She graduated from Spelman magna cum laude with a degree in interdisciplinary studies and was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar.

In 2010, Abrams became House Democratic Leader in the Georgia General Assembly, the first woman to lead either party in the state legislature and the first Black Georgian to lead in the House of Representatives.

"Spelman College is fortunate to have a dynamic leader such as Stacey Abrams as an alumna. Her work has had a tremendous impact on our state and country and the African American community," said Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D. "She stands as an example for Spelman students of how to lead effectively while navigating complex issues, like voting rights, equity, and civil rights. We look forward to all that Abrams will share with the class of 2022."

Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman College, will host a fireside chat to share insight on the architectural designs and program plans for the College’s new Center for Innovation & the Arts.

The community is invited to join virtually from 6 - 7 p.m. ET, on Monday, April 25. Registration is required to attend. To register, visit Spelman.edu/FiresideChat.The fireside chat will feature award-winning architect Jeanne Gang, FAIA, a MacArthur Fellow and founder of Studio Gang, the architectural firm responsible for designing the Center for Innovation & the Arts, and Ayoka Chenzira, Ph.D., professor, and division chair for the arts.

Upon its completion in 2024, the Center will include space for all of the College's creative disciplines including art, art history, curatorial studies, documentary filmmaking, photography, music, theater and performance.

The CI&A will also allow for the expansion of the Spelman Museum of Fine Art and house the Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab, which will serve as home to co-curricular programs in the Center for Black Entrepreneurship.

For more information on the Center for Innovation & the Arts, visit Spelman.edu.

The Spelman Period Project successfully brought four free pad and tampon dispensers to campus this year.

Students Asia Brown C’23, Jordan Barrant C’22, Monique Vaz C’23, and Samiya White C’22 and their faculty advisor Cynthia Spence, Ph.D., C'78, Social Justice Fellows Program director, worked with Aunt Flow, a woman-owned organization that helps colleges and organizations offer free menstrual products, to have the new dispensers installed.

"Though currently, there are only four dispensers on campus, ultimately, we hope that all bathrooms on campus will eventually be equipped with free menstrual products for all students, regardless of gender or class, because access to menstrual products is a right, not a privilege," said Barrant, a Boston native who will graduate this May with a bachelor's degree in comparative women's studies with a minor in curatorial studies.

Drs. Shamolie Wyckoff, C'2000 and Elita Wyckoff Jones, C'2003, both Spelman College alumna and sisters, have collaborated to write "With Ease, Navigating the Medical Office Visit" to respond to the increasing healthcare of people of color, the elderly and the self-employed.

The conversational and instructional book is part of their ongoing effort to help patients live healthier lives.

Available on Amazon and WithEaseBook.com, the book educates patients about the importance of understanding their medications.

"I wanted to give an insider guide to patients," said Dr. Elita Wyckoff Jones, who has been a practicing physician in obstetrics and gynecology for the past 15 years told Black Enterprise.

To purchase the book, visit WithEaseBook.com.