On August 22, Spelman College students, faculty, staff and stakeholders filled Sisters Chapel for Opening Convocation. The first in Spelman’s annual convocation series, the event follows New Student Orientation and serves as a ceremonial start to the 2024-2025 academic year while bringing together the campus community to recognize the hard work and achievements of the College's faculty.
During the convocation, President Helene D. Gayle and Provost Pamela Scott-Johnson congratulated the following newly tenured and promoted faculty members for their tireless efforts and dedication within their disciplines:
John Givens, Ph.D., associate professor, International Studies Program
Luis Gonzales Barrios, Ph.D., associate professor, World Languages and Cultures Department
Sarah RudeWalker, Ph.D., associate professor, English Department
Mentewab Ayalew, Ph.D., professor, Biology Department
Kai McCormack, Ph.D., professor, Psychology Department
Tiffany Oliver, Ph.D., professor, Biology Department
Patricia Ventura, Ph.D., professor, English Department
In addition, President Gayle and Dr. Scott-Johnson acknowledged this year's Faculty Presidential Award Winners for their excellence in teaching, scholarship, service, mentoring and innovation.
“Most days, our faculty teach their classes, produce great scholarship and works of innovation [and] creativity and advance our mission without fanfare,” said Dr. Scott-Johnson. “But, at Opening Convocation, it is our tradition to thank and acknowledge them and to recognize a small group of faculty who have made outstanding contributions over the past year.”
The 2024 Faculty Presidential Award Recipients are:
Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching, Tenured Faculty
Unislawa Williams, Ph.D., associate professor, Political Science Department
Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching, Pre-Tenure Faculty
Celeste Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor, Sociology and Anthropology Department
Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Tenured Faculty
Danielle Dickens, Ph.D., associate professor, Psychology Department
Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Pre-Tenure Faculty
Na’Taki Jelks, Ph.D., assistant professor, Environmental and Health Sciences Department
Presidential Award for Excellence in Service
Dorian Brown Crosby, Ph.D., associate professor, Political Science Department
Presidential Award for Excellence in Mentoring
Nicole Taylor, Ph.D., associate professor, Education Department
Following the presentation of the awards, President Gayle took a moment to highlight Spelman’s dedicated faculty – specifically the alumnae that return to the College to educate and support the next generations of Spelman women.
“It was so impressive to hear how many of the faculty who are getting awards are Spelman grads,” said President Gayle. “I think it’s a wonderful message to our students in the audience that after you leave here, you can do so many different things, and you can also come back home and contribute. It is so inspiring to me to hear how many of our faculty, our administration, our staff came from Spelman and want to give back, and I think that is a special thing.”
New to this year's convocation was a fireside chat between the President and Provost that allowed the two to candidly explore topics such as Black women’s history and Spelman’s role in shaping that history, the College’s new strategic plan and the robust variety of experiences that ultimately brought President Gayle to 350 Spelman Lane.
“I think the lesson in that is that you never know from where you start where you will end up,” said President Gayle. “For me, every job has prepared me for the next one.”
President Gayle explained how she charted her career path by taking risks “outside of the linear path” and examining health on a broader scale – finding that the push for social justice and equity were the factors that drove her work and while allowing her to simultaneously give back and help the next generation of Black women hoping to change the world.
President Gayle also shared that her time at the helm of Spelman College has allowed her to be her authentic self and makes her reflect on her own liberal arts education at Barnard College and how things could’ve been different had she come to Spelman as a student.
“Just like Spelman, Barnard tells a woman ‘You can do anything you want to do.’ and really gives you that sense of understanding who you are and why it is important to have women’s voices at the table,” said President Gayle. “But, I often say, this is my ‘HBCU do over.’ If I had to do it again, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have chosen Spelman over Barnard because it speaks to who you are as a person of African descent as well as a woman.”
To close the convocation, President Gayle provided the Class of 2028 with some valuable advice – urging them to go to class, explore their identities more broadly, take their own risks, experience the full Spelman College experience and to prioritize authenticity.
“There is no one way to be a Spelman Woman,” said President Gayle. “The only way to be a Spelman Woman is be who you are authentically, and this is the opportunity to really dig deep into what that means for each one of you.”
