Over 570 to march at SU fall Graduation

Former Spelman College president and nationally known educator Johnnetta B. Cole will deliver the keynote address at Southern University’s fall commencement exercises at 10:30 a.m. Friday, December 13 at Bethany World Prayer Center in Baker. The public is invited to attend.
Currently serving as president of Bennett College, Cole has a distinguishing career as a university teacher and administrator that spans 37 years. She is president emerita of Spelman College and professor emerita of Emory University from which she retired as Presidential Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Woman’s Studies and African-American Studies.
Cole is best known for becoming the first African-American woman to serve as president of Spelman College in 1987. At her inauguration, entertainer Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, made a $20 million donation to the college, the largest single gift from individuals to any historically Black college or university at that time.
Under Cole’s leadership, Spelman became the first historically Black college or university to receive a number one rating by U. S. News and World Report magazine when the college was named the number one liberal arts college in the South.
In 1996, Cole was appointed to President-elect Bill Clinton’s transition team as cluster coordinator for education, labor, and the arts and humanities.
Beginning her college studies at Fisk University, Cole completed her undergraduate degree at Oberlin College. She earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in anthropology from Northwestern University before embarking on a career in teaching and research in the areas of cultural anthropology, African-American Studies and Women’s Studies.
In addition to receiving 47 honorary degrees and numerous awards for public service, Cole continues to write, speak, consult and engage in community service.