Johnnetta Betsch Cole
“Leadership [is] not about what one accumulates for oneself, but what one is willing and able to do for others”Johnnetta Betsch Cole (b. 1936, OC 1957) is a leader in education, having served as a professor, college president, and museum director. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, she attended Fisk University at the age of 15, then transferred to Oberlin College the following year. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, she enrolled at Northwestern University, where she earned a master’s and doctorate in anthropology.
As a professor, she played a pivotal role in the founding and development of the Black Studies programs at Washington State University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In 1982, Cole started at Hunter College where she became the director of their Latin American and Caribbean Studies program.
In 1987, she became the first African American woman to be appointed president of the historically black Spelman College and helped increase their endowment by 113 million dollars. Cole was awarded the Candace Award in education from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 1988. From 1998 to 2001, Cole taught anthropology, women’s studies, and African American studies at Emory University. Pulled out of retirement in 2002, she was appointed president of the historically black college, Bennett College.
Cole was the Director of the National Museum of African Art from 2009 to 2017 and now serves on the Advisory Council of the National Center for Science Education. Cole has received over 40 honorary degrees from various institutions, as well as numerous awards.
Sources:
Student File (Johnnetta Betsch Cole), Alumni & Development Records, Box 193, O.C.A.