Aug. 17: Spelman College Receives $10 Million Gift From Seth and Beth Klarman to Support Scholarships

Spelman College Receives $10 Million Gift From Seth and Beth Klarman to Support Scholarships

Seth and Beth Klarman, longtime supporters of Spelman College, have made a new gift of $10 million to the institution.

The funding will support scholarships with an emphasis on helping students overcome the financial barriers that may prevent them from graduating.

Since 2015, the Klarmans have committed more than $16 million to Spelman, extending opportunities for hundreds of students to benefit from the College’s academic excellence by graduating with a competitive edge, in whatever their chosen field, prepared for a life and career of positive change.

"Spelman is an extraordinary educational institution. We hope our support ensures that exceptional young women have the opportunity to attend and graduate from Spelman, and go on to have rewarding and fulfilling careers," said Seth and Beth Klarman. "Spelman students become leaders in their chosen fields and, as activists and participants in the work for social justice, they are strong voices for positive change in America."

Virtual Orientation Welcomes New Students

Spelman College carried on its strong traditions of welcoming new students to campus through a robust virtual orientation program

New Student Orientation: When and Where I Enter: Reimagining Intellectual Community, kicked-off Friday, Aug. 14, with a virtual welcome meeting hosted by the Granddaughters of Spelman College, the oldest student organization on campus, made up of students whose grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters and cousins attended the institution.

Students took part in traditional events like hearing the When and Where I Enter address delivered by Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman, and new web-based events, including the Virtual Community Service program organized by the Bonner Office of Civic Engagement.

For new students and their parents, orientation "is almost like a passing of the baton," Darryl Holloman, vice president for student affairs at Spelman, recently shared with the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The five-day event wraps-up with a virtual Opening Convocation ceremony at 10 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 20. Access to register for the Zoom event can be found via the mySpelman portal.

Political Science Professor Addresses Environmental Racism and Justice

Fatemah Shafiei, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of political science, appeared on the Eating Matters podcast to discuss how communities of color are disproportionately affected by environmental hazards.

From dangerous worksites to toxic plants being built close to African American communities, environmental racism takes a toll on the collective health and overall wellbeing of communities of color, Dr. Shafiei told host Jenna Liut.

"The environmental justice movement is also about civil rights and social and economic justice issues," said Dr. Shafiei.

"The solutions are in policy and the implementation of those policies," she explained. "In order to bring change, we need people to be informed so that they can push leaders to adopt change."

Dr. Shafiei is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council and has served as an environmental justice consultant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She's a leader in advancing the integration of sustainability into college, university, high school and middle school curricula.

Alumna Named CEO of Philadelphia-Based Hunger Organization

Philabundance, a 35-year-old nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger in Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, recently  announced the selection of Loree D. Jones, C'91, as its new chief executive officer.

Jones, who most recently served as chief of staff to the chancellor of Rutgers University-Camden, served in leadership positions in nonprofit organizations, education and city government throughout her career.

Prior to her service at Rutgers, Jones was chief of external affairs for the School District of Philadelphia, coordinating strategic communications and governmental affairs for the nation’s eighth largest school district and managing advocacy efforts with external partners.

Jones also served as managing director for the City of Philadelphia in the John Street administration, overseeing 16 operating departments and offices with close to 20,000 employees and a $3.2 billion operating budget.