MLK Day Program

Dr. Johnetta B. Cole will be the keynote speaker for the 34th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on Thursday, January 12, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ohio Union Ballrooms. Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole’s career as a college and university professor and administrator spans over three decades. Dr. Cole made history in 1987 by becoming the first African American woman to serve as president of Spelman College. In May 2004 she became the first African American to serve as Chair of the Board of United Way of America. Dr. Cole is President emerita of Spelman College and Professor emerita of Emory University from which she retired as Presidential Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Women’s Studies and African American Studies.

Dr. Cole began her college studies at Fisk University and completed her undergraduate degree at Oberlin College. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Northwestern University. She is the author of numerous publications for scholarly and general audiences. Her most recent publication is a book co-authored with Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall: Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women’s Equality in African American Communities. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Anthropological Association. Dr. Cole serves on the board of America’s Promise, the National Visionary Leadership Project, and the United Way of Greater Greensboro. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Merck & Co., Inc., and the Atlanta Falcons. Dr. Cole consults on diversity matters with Citigroup. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, The Links, Inc. and the National Council of Negro Women. In addition to 51 honorary degrees, Dr. Cole has received numerous awards, including, the TransAfrica Forum Global Public Service Award, the Dorothy I. Height Dreammaker Award, the Radcliffe Medal, the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal, the 2001 Alexis deTocqueville Award for Community Service from United Way of America, the Award for Education presented at the 90th Anniversary Celebrations of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and The Joseph Prize for Human Rights presented by the Anti-Defamation League.

Dr. Cole has a long and distinguished career as an educator and humanitarian. Her work as a college professor and president, her published works, her speeches and her community service, consistently address issues of racial, gender and all other forms of discrimination.