The Top 10 Black Women in Higher Ed (Page 2)
By Tanu T. Henry, AOL BlackVoices
Marvalene Hughes, president, Dillard University
Marvalene Hughes, recently appointed president of Louisiana's Dillard University has led an accomplished professional career in many arenas of American higher education. A psychologist and former president of the largely Hispanic campus of the University of California at Stanislaus, Hughes oversaw more than $70 million in infrastructural improvements on the school's campus. A graduate of Tuskegee University, Hughes says her undergraduate years at the historically black school especially prepared her to lead at Dillard. A graduate of Florida State University (with postgraduate work completed at Columbia and Harvard), Hughes has also worked at the University of Minnesota, the University of Toledo, Arizona State University and San Diego State University.
Shirley Ann Jackson, president, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
A recent article in Time magazine calls Shirley Ann Jackson "the ultimate role model for women in science." The president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute since 1999, Jackson previously served as chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for three years. In addition, the theoretical physicist has also worked at Bell Laboratories, Rutgers University and many other research facilities around the world, including the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland. Born in Washington, D.C., Jackson graduated valedictorian of D.C.'s Roosevelt High School and was among the ranks of the first black students accepted to MIT in 1964. After bearing the brunt of the racist reaction inspired by the integration of the college, Jackson remembers being shunned by her classmates, insulted by a professor and even shot at in downtown Boston. But she also made history. She became the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from MIT and one of the first two black women to earn Ph.D.s in Physics. She also helped to organize the black student affinity group at MIT. Today, she actively uses her position as college president and her professional experiences to cheer on and champion young women interested in pursuing professions in science and technology. She is married to physicist Morris Washington.
Toni Morrison, professor, Princeton University
Easily, the most celebrated black author in the world, Toni Morrison writes historical fiction in soul-moving and rhythmic prose. Capturing African-American history and all the laughter and darkness of the human condition with equal incisiveness, each of her books has commanded the attention of critics and book lovers everywhere. Her professorship at Princeton University attracts young scholars eager to learn in the presence of the Pulitzer-prize (1988) and Nobel-Prize (1993) winning novelist. Born Chloe Anthony Wofford, in Lorain, Ohio, Morrison is the daughter of working class parents. A graduate of Howard and Cornell, Morrison has taught at Texas Southern, Howard, Yale and now Princeton. She is also a former editor at Random House.
Ruth Simmons, president, Brown University
Before becoming the first black woman president of Brown University in 2001 (and the first African American to head an Ivy League institution for that matter), Ruth Simmons served as president of Smith College, the largest women's college in the U.S. A graduate of Dillard University, Brown received a Ph.D. in romance languages and literature at Harvard. Shortly after, she authored a book on education in Haiti. She has also served as an administrator and scholar at Princeton, the University of Southern California and Spelman. At Smith, she started an engineering program and at Brown, Simmons has led initiatives to push for diversity and expanded financial aid for all students. She has also invested significantly in technology at the Rhode Island University. In 2001, Time magazine named Simmons, who has also received numerous honorary doctorates from various universities, America's Best College President.
Beverly Daniel Tatum, president, Spelman College
Before becoming president of the Atlanta women's college, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Giving academic inspection to a common phenomenon on college campuses, Tatum's work immediately put her in the spotlight of academic circles all across the country. An "integration baby" herself, Tatum went to high school in suburban Bridgewater, Ma., before attending Wesleyan University and Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. She later received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Michigan. Before taking the job at Spelman in 2002, Tatum worked as a professor and administrator at Mount Holyoke College for 13 years. Before that, she worked at Westfield State College in Massachusetts and the University of Santa Barbara in California. At Spelman, Tatum says she's proud to carry on a long and fine tradition of women's and African-American education. She says Spelman creates an affirming environment for young black women at a time when race and gender are still too often regarded as challenges.
March 16, 2005