Media Alert
MAYOR SHIRLEY FRANKLIN AND THE FORD FOUNDATION'S ALISON BERNSTEIN TO JOIN SPELMAN COLLEGE AS COSBY ENDOWED PROFESSORS
ATLANTA (November 23, 2009) Two revolutionary, pioneering world-class leaders in politics and philanthropy, the Honorable Shirley Franklin, two-term mayor of Atlanta, and Alison R. Bernstein of The Ford Foundation, will be the new William and Camille Cosby Endowed Professors in 2010 at Spelman College.
The William and Camille Cosby Endowed Professorship was established in 1988. The recipient utilizes the post to expand the College’s curricular offerings by designing a course rooted in her specific area of expertise, and facilitating interdisciplinary initiatives across the campus and with other organizations. The residency concludes with a special culminating event developed and implemented by the Cosby chair.
Shattering the political glass ceiling in 2001 when she was elected its first female mayor, Shirley Franklin tackled head-on tough urban challenges facing Atlanta. As Cosby professor of social sciences, she will share her perspectives on women in politics, the challenges of urban civic leadership, and lessons learned in forging coalitions locally, nationally, and internationally across lines of difference, a hallmark of her eight years as Mayor. She will assume the new post, effective January 2010 through January 2011.
“Accepting the appointment as a William and Camille Cosby Endowed Professor is an honor,” said Mayor Shirley Franklin. “The Cosby Endowed Professorship will allow me to share my perspectives on women in politics, the challenges of urban civic leadership, and lessons learned as mayor. I am honored that President Beverly Daniel Tatum considered me; and I am accepting this unique position and opportunity to contribute to the academic experience of dozens of Spelman women.”
“We are thrilled to have Mayor Franklin and Dr. Bernstein joining us as Cosby Professors. Each has been a trailblazer in her field, and both have forged extensive global connections in their professional roles, enhancing our strategic efforts at internationalization,” said President Tatum. “At Spelman, we are in the business of developing women leaders who think globally and act locally. We could not have a better example of civic leadership than Mayor Franklin, or innovative philanthropic leadership than in Alison Bernstein. Our students are very fortunate to have an opportunity to learn from these legends, in and out of the classroom.”
After more than two decades at the Ford Foundation, including 14 years as vice president of the Education, Creativity and Free Expression program, Bernstein will leave her position to become Cosby professor of humanities concentrating on U.S. history and comparative women’s studies, beginning August 2010, to remain until the end of May 2011.
“I am deeply honored by this invitation to join the Spelman community,” Bernstein shared. “At this time in US history, there is no more exciting intellectual opportunity than working with and learning from these students and faculty who are so committed to pursuing academic excellence and social justice. “
A forward-thinking, internationally recognized leader in the world of philanthropy, Bernstein charted and paved new pathways in philanthropy by supporting minority women’s studies programs, emerging arts institutions, urban public education, African American and American ethnic studies programs, urban public education and access to higher education for women and minorities. The diversity initiatives under her leadership at The Ford Foundation, during the 1990s in particular, charted the directions for higher education’s grappling with the recruitment and retention of minority faculty; and the inclusion of the new scholarship inclusive of the minority presence in the curriculum.
Johnnella E. Butler, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs notes that Dr. Bernstein will bring to the Spelman curriculum a course on Native American women’s history, an area of study that Academic Affairs aims to develop further at Spelman; and Mayor Franklin will bring to social science classes a greater understanding of the everyday political processes that require constant vigilance and participation at all levels.
“Both of these women are coming to Spelman at a time in which they are reflecting on their accomplishments and contributions as well as on what the future might hold for them,” said Dr. Butler. “For our students and faculty Dr. Bernstein and Mayor Franklin model the best in ways to combine life-long personal goals with addressing national and international challenges of social justice. They represent the epitome of responsible, focused and strategic leadership.”
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Spelman College:
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a prestigious, highly selective, liberal arts college that prepares women to change the world. Located in Atlanta, Ga., this historically black college boasts a 79 percent graduation rate, and outstanding alumnae such as Children's Defense Fund Founder Marian Wright Edelman; former U.S. Foreign Service Director General Ruth Davis, authors Tina McElroy Ansa and Pearl Cleage; and actress LaTanya Richardson. More than 83 percent of the full-time faculty members have Ph.D.s or other terminal degrees, and the average faculty to student ratio is 12:1. More than 2,100 students attend Spelman. For more
information, visit: www.spelman.edu.
