The Spelman College Census Information Center (CIC) initiative is a cooperative program between the U.S. Bureau of the Census and 52 national, regional and local non-profit organizations. The CIC Program represents the interests of underserved communities. The centers serve as repositories of census data and reports, making census information and data available to the public and the communities they serve. Spelman College has been part of the program since 2000.
Census Information Centers use census data and tools in areas such as program planning, training, needs assessments, defining service areas, developing new business enterprises, and conducting demographic and social research.
The Spelman College Census Information Center (CIC) was established in 2000 with the support of faculty members Drs. Romie Tribble and Jack Stone (Economics Department) and Bruce Wade (Sociology Department).
The Center is housed in the
Sociology and Anthropology Department and flourished under the leadership of Dr. Wade who served as the director of the program from its inception until his passing in 2018. From 2018-2020, Dr. Mona Phillips directed the program. The CIC is currently directed by
Dr. Celeste N. Lee.
Spelman is one of four HBCUs in the nation that have a CIC, serves as the only women-centered college in the CIC network, and is the only historically Black college CIC that is not supported by a graduate student population. As a result, Spelman plays a critical role in elevating the ways in which Census data can illuminate intersectional experiences surrounding race and gender. Likewise, Spelman leads other CICs in training undergraduate students as Census data users.