As a senior adviser to President Barack Obama and as a leader committed to service, Valerie Jarrett embodies the attributes that inspire Spelman women. She is adept at leading change. A skilled collaborator, she is able to balance disparate interests and points of view in order to effect meaningful change. We are honored to have Ms. Jarrett as our 130th Commencement speaker.

Ms. Davies’ distinguished record of scholarship and leadership in higher education and beyond will further advance the College. As we seek to heighten the intellectual experience, global impact of Spelman women, and career horizons for our students, her experiences will allow her to effectively lead the College's academic functions with insight, creativity, and innovation in the dynamic and rapidly changing higher education environment.

Ms. Davies joins Spelman at an exciting time in the College’s history as we are formulating a strategic plan that will profoundly impact Spelman's academic future and assesses the 21st century skills and knowledge our students require to be leaders in the global community

Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities’ exemplifies the commitment that the Museum has had to championing the aesthetic and technological innovation made by Black women artists since it opened in 1996. Thomas’ continued and rigorous engagement with Black women muses resonates deeply with the intellectual, creative and activist charges that the Spelman College community continues to lead.

Spelman is grounded in a rich history of developing generations of leaders who challenge – and change – cultural norms and biases that foster inequalities. Our growing role as an epicenter for the arts and innovation is now combining with our strength in STEM to sharpen our students’ academic experience and improve their career opportunities.

If Spelman is not the paradigm of a great college, I do not know what is. The gift to the scholarship program and to the arts and innovation center from Louise and me commemorates one of the best days I’ve ever had.

We welcome them as new donors to Spelman and welcome, too, their enthusiasm and faith in the values and mission of the College. Their generous gift supports the academic success of a group of talented, socially engaged students and, at the same time, helps the College launch the planning of a new facility that will encourage campus wide collaborations and community engagement.

We are honored to welcome Dr. Campbell as a member of our board of directors. With her extensive and varied leadership experience in the arts and as an educator, she will be a wonderful asset and advocate for the Museum, and we are excited to work with her.

'AFRICA FORECAST' continues the Museum’s legacy of introducing new artists to Atlanta audiences and invites all viewers to stretch their perceptions about the range of works that Black women artists create.

The goal is to entice audiences and immerse them in a lyrical enclave of style.

The phenomenal increase in the number of Spelman students participating in global travel experience reaffirms the College’s mission statement that aims at engaging students with the ‘many cultures of the world.'

Studying abroad taught me how to be open-minded, a critical thinker, and how to see life through a new hue, which is essential to establishing race relations in our global community. I learned that while barriers like culture, language, and values do exist within the realm of international communities, with some experience, exposure and immersion, those barriers could be broken.

Spelman students compete for Fulbrights both to serve as informal U.S. ambassadors, but also because they see Fulbright as a strong foundation for a career in the global arena.

The Rangel fellowship grants a spectacular opportunity to meet with established officials in foreign policy, a congressional internship, an internship at an overseas U.S. Embassy, and a five-year career as a United States Foreign Service officer, all while funding my graduate school career.

Spelman College's biology program is amazing at teaching students the importance of research and exploration and preparing us for success through encouraging curiosity and demanding excellence.

What really sets the Spelman College biology program apart is how faculty take a real interest in each student’s needs as a unique individual, give one-on-one support, and cultivate our confidence.

It’s the Spelman experience, which means that we focus on developing the whole student, encourage curiosity, and impress upon our students that we care about them as individuals, but that we expect them to take their work seriously.

This work is a testimony to the ability of our students to take on complex tasks and perform at levels expected from graduate students and research scientists.

Each year, at the DMIS showcase, we learn something new and extraordinary about Black women in the world by extraordinary Black women in the world.

Ntozake Shange coming to Spelman means a lot to me. Since I have had this special residency at Spelman, she was the first person I thought of to come into this environment that has been supportive of me, to share her brilliance, creativity and wisdom with my Spelman family.

Research Day presentations represent 25 academic disciplines, as well as each academic division on campus. Such a range of disciplinary perspectives indicates our belief in the benefits of a liberal arts education. As we continue to promote sound undergraduate research and scholarship, we know that our students will prevail in the journey to excellence that defines Spelman’s mission.

Perhaps the audience will also consider listening more closely to elders who share their own stories, and maybe even recording their elders to preserve their words and ideas.

By understanding our past and looking honestly at the present, perhaps we can begin to imagine a future free from racial prejudice.

Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell is a visionary and an accomplished leader who is well prepared to move the mission of Spelman forward from a very broad global perspective. We are pleased and excited she accepted the call to serve the College, which prepares women of the African Diaspora to excel academically and make a positive difference as agents of change around the world.

For the past 135 years, Spelman has created a space where women could acquire the tools, skills and wisdom to close our country’s equality gap. Spelman has come through those years strong and healthy, and now leads the country in producing outstanding Black women in the fields of science, medicine, law, business, the arts and public service.

Lydia and I will talk about how we approach our work as artists and how we protect and guide that work once it goes into production. I look forward to hearing about Lydia’s experiences in the New York theater world. I also want to explore her thoughts on the role of the writer in these turbulent times.

Octavia Butler totally understands the way we think as human beings. Her work is instrumental in helping us figure out who we are going to be as we move forward and what kind of people are we going to be. I hope people who don’t know her work will see how scholars use her work in the academy.

Black Chronicles II makes the archive, which is often viewed as a static place for researching the past, come alive. While the Black subjects in the portraits hail from the Victorian era, it provokes a variety of pressing discussions about tracing our ancestry, maintaining family albums, the various ways that photographs continue to shape views about race, and the under-considered relationship between photographers and sitters. The Museum is privileged to present this important internationally touring exhibition.

Dwight Andrews’ tenure as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar has been exceptionally rewarding for Spelman. He has encouraged interdisciplinary dialogues about connections between historical and musical traditions, to the delight of our students, faculty and staff. We are honored to have had the opportunity to learn from an accomplished academic, musician and composer.

This program will suggest, for example, how the words of a poet can inspire a new sound or how a visual image can dance and animate a dancer. My hope is the audience will receive a glimpse of my musical universe with all its constellations.

It is a privilege to have Dianne McIntyre, a revered dancer, choreographer and art historian, as our new Distinguished Visiting Scholar. Her innovative and pioneering work has inspired generations. We look forward to the creative energy and expertise she will bring to Spelman as a scholar and artist.

My hope is students will understand they have tools within themselves for spontaneous creativity, for working creatively and respectfully with others, for digging deep in research, and for moving forward with confidence in any new pursuit.

Howardena Pindell’s work, which mirrors her life and experiences, is astute, attuned and richly textured. This special exhibition honors the Museum’s mission and commitment to presenting work that is informed, innovative and relevant.

Spelman is a national treasure. In the coming weeks and months, I plan to listen and learn from the community responsible for Spelman’s ascent – the faculty, students, alumnae and parents – as well as friends and supporters of the College, from across the country, who make up the fiercely committed Spelman community.

Spelman is a national treasure. In the coming weeks and months, I plan to listen and learn from the community responsible for Spelman’s ascent – the faculty, students, alumnae and parents – as well as friends and supporters of the College, from across the country, who make up the fiercely committed Spelman community.

We are thrilled to have so many dynamic visionaries in the technology realm attend this year’s conference. These speakers and honorees stand boldly at the forefront to create and implement leadership strategies to ensure the advancement of women of color.

Denim Day provides an opportunity for college campuses throughout the nation to take a unified stand in solidarity and support for victims of sexual assault and violence. Denim Day is fully embraced by Spelman College and is recognized as a College-wide day of solidarity for victims of sexual assault.

Technology is embedded in everything we do. This year’s conference will offer bold, new-age strategies on how to successfully navigate and harness the influence of various digital platforms and concepts that impact our reality. It will also focus on how women of color are a critical part of this digital movement. The digital world transcends demographics and is a driving force in our society, which makes the topic and timing of this conference ideal.

Donna Brazile has been a trailblazer in the political arena and a staunch advocate for human and civil rights. We are pleased she will have an opportunity to impart words of wisdom to Spelman graduates as they begin the next phase of life's journey, and join the ranks of Spelman alumnae who have made a choice to change the world.

I am honored to join a community with such a distinguished record for developing bold thinking Black women who have vaulted into leadership roles all over the country. For over a decade, Dr. Beverly Tatum has provided stellar leadership to the Spelman community –trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumnae – and it is a privilege to inherit the presidency from such a visionary leader.

Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell is enterprising and exhibits tremendous clarity in responding to challenges with sustainable solutions. She identifies and advances opportunities for growth and success. She is a true interdisciplinary scholar with exemplary skills to guide us. She is the right leader at the right time because her dynamic and innovative leadership has been demonstrated at every step along the way in her career.

During the conference, we’ll examine the effects of technology and digital culture as it relates to leadership on a global level; explore what diversity looks like in the digital space; and identify the skill sets and platforms New School Leaders use to cultivate and maintain success.

Nina Simone represents the epitome of the complete musician/activist, from the classical-trained pianist, to a composer whose music addresses the Black woman’s experience in America.

'Maren Hassinger . . . Dreaming' is a long awaited and timely examination of this pioneering artist’s life and work. Her evocative and restorative works — many of which have been recreated for this solo exhibition — invite visitors to ponder the intimate relationship between art, nature, movement and transformation.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's longstanding support of Spelman College has been critical to the invigoration of key academic initiatives. This most recent grant is meaningful and timely as the College engages in the dynamic process of re-envisioning our arts programs.

Through public forums like this conference, we intend to not only educate the faith community, students and civic leaders about the commercial sexual exploitation and victimization of our girls and boys, we also hope more Black churches and students will join the movement to take action against the perpetrators and buyers who sell our children

Tayler’s global perspective is made concrete by both her international studies major which provides the academic foundation for her future career and her creation of Girls Going Global, a program for young African-American girls that encourages them to have a broader, more global perspective by studying overseas.

Often when we think about technology we think primarily about hardware, software or coding, but technology is much more than this. It is a cultural practice that allows us to think and rethink our relationship to the world and with each other. The festival will show that women are involved in technology in many ways.

Spelman has made significant progress in reducing our ecological footprint with the implementation of our Climate Action Plan and the integration of specific goals to achieve a ‘greener community’ into our Strategic Plan for 2017. We are excited about our partnership with Chevrolet as it is recognition of Spelman’s ongoing efforts to increase our stewardship of our natural resources.

“It is my hope this event can help advance the campus climate for LGBT students, faculty and staff. The film screening and discussion will provide an important opportunity to bring people together in the Atlanta University Center to discuss issues of LGBT equality and inclusion on our campuses.”