Oberlin's Women: A Legacy of Leadership & Activism

Charlene Cole-Newkirk

Charlene Cole-Newkirk (OC 1974) is a college administrator. She graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in English in 1974. She enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1975 and completed her Doctor of Law Degree in 1978. Cole-Newkirk became the Dean of Student Life and Services at Oberlin College in 1993. While working at Oberlin, Cole-Newkirk worked to combat problems with diversity on campus. In the early 1990s, many students faced hostility on campus and were targeted based on their race and sexual orientation. Working to support these students and create a more inclusive community, Cole-Newkirk restructured the Office of Multicultural Affairs to create the Multicultural Resource Center. This center’s purpose was to create a supportive space and network students could use to meet their personal and social needs in order to achieve success on campus. She left Oberlin in 1996. Cole-Newkirk later began work in 2003 as the vice president and dean of the Prince Frederick Campus at the College of Southern Maryland, a position she held until 2009. During that time, she was a member of the board of directors and secretary for Calvert Memorial Hospital from 2007 to 2009. Cole-Newkirk was chair of the board of managers between 2012 and 2015 for the Thelma Lovette and Central Avenue YMCA. In 2009 she became the South Campus president for the Community College of Allegheny County. She began working as the Southeast regional president for that college in 2019. Cole-Newkirk is a board member for the Human Services Center Corporation and for Allegheny Health Network Jefferson Regional Hospital.

Sources:
Baumann, Roland M. Constructing Black Education At Oberlin College: A Documentary History. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2010.

Cole-Newkirk, Charlene. “Charlene Cole-Newkirk.” Linkedin. 2020. Access July 29, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlene-newkirk-8986795/

Miller, Hanna, and Abby Person. "Dean Cole-Newkirk resigns post effective immediately." The Oberlin Review. Vol 126, Special Edition: (October 16, 1997). https://www2.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/archives/1997.10.16/special_edition/resign.html

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