Atlanta: Spelman College taps Helene Gayle as next president

Apr 25, 2022, 4:39 PM | Updated: 4:58 pm

ATLANTA (AP) — Spelman College, one of the nation’s only two historically Black colleges for women, on Monday chose as its president an epidemiologist who spent decades fighting AIDS and HIV before becoming the leader of an international anti-poverty group.

Trustees of the private Atlanta college voted unanimously Monday to make Dr. Helene Gayle its 11th president, effective July 1. Current president Mary Schmidt Campbell announced her planned retirement last year.

Gayle will take over as the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement has propelled a spike in private giving to Spelman and other historically Black colleges and universities, especially those in the top tier.

Gayle, 66, is currently president of the Chicago Community Trust, a community foundation. She said that when she was approached about leading Spelman, she was attracted to it as “a place where young women can really tap into who they are, really develop a sense of confidence as women.”

The 2,400-student school is one of the nation’s top historically Black institutions, part of the Atlanta University Center, a consortium of four historically Black schools. Gayle said she wants to build on Spelman’s strength in sending students into careers in medicine, science, technology, engineering and math.

Trustee Kaye Foster said Spelman leaders liked Gayle’s ability to raise money in her Chicago position, saying the trust’s assets have risen from $2.8 billion to $4.7 billion under her leadership. The foundation has focused on reducing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the city. Foster also cites Gayle’s ability to set and execute on priorities, her experience in working in large institutions and a career as a “humanitarian and a servant leader.”

“Even though she’s not a Spelman alum, in many ways, she has lived our Spelman motto,” Foster said. “She has made choices to change the world at every turn.”

Gayle lived for decades in Atlanta while working for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After a stint with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation overseeing policy for HIV, tuberculosis and reproductive health, she returned to Atlanta as President and CEO of CARE USA, a key part of an international humanitarian group that fights poverty by focusing on women and girls. She’s also a member of the board of the Coca-Cola Co., an Atlanta corporate icon.

Trained as a pediatrician, Gayle has received 18 honorary degrees, including from Emory University and the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta and Agnes Scott College in Decatur.

Spelman and other HBCUs have been focused on reducing costs and loans obtained by students. Today, more than three-quarters of Spelman students get need-based aid, but 92% end up with loans, borrowing more than $27,000 on average, according to data published by the college.

Gayle said she plans to pitch donors on the idea that HBCUs are effective in helping poorer students rise out of poverty, reducing income inequality.

“Any woman who has the academic background and has the desire to have an education at Spelman ought to be able to do that, and ought to be able to do that without having to amass the kind of debt that is oftentimes crippling for somebody who’s starting out in their career,” Gayle said.

She also said she intends to focus on a key student-life concern, a lack of on-campus housing at Spelman. Less than 60% of students live on campus today.

“I think there’s creative ways in which we can think about this issue,” Gayle said. “It was made a priority and it will be a priority for me.”

___

Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

FILE - Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer speaks inside the Recorders Office, Nov. 9, 2022, in...
Associated Press

Dominion conspiracies highlighted by Fox lawsuit have election officials concerned for safety

Maricopa County officials are bracing for what could happen when it comes time to replace its contract for voting equipment.
1 day ago
A building is damaged and trees are down after severe storm swept through Little Rock, Ark., Friday...
Associated Press

Tornado causes widespread damage to buildings, vehicles in Little Rock

A tornado raced through Little Rock and surrounding areas Friday, splintering homes, overturning vehicles and tossing trees.
1 day ago
FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a cam...
Associated Press

Worries grow that Trump indictment could undermine public confidence in other investigations

Trump’s attempts to overturn those results amid false claims of widespread fraud are at the heart of two other ongoing investigations.
1 day ago
(Facebook Photo/Superior Court of Arizona in Yavapai County)...
Associated Press

Arizona judge has cases reassigned following DUI arrest

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that all cases currently assigned to a Yavapai County Superior Court judge recently arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI will be reassigned to other judges.
5 days ago
Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
8 days ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
8 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.
(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...
Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.
...
Fiesta Bowl Foundation

Celebrate 50 years of Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade magic!

Since its first production in the early 1970s, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe has been a staple of Valley traditions, bringing family fun and excitement to downtown Phoenix.
Atlanta: Spelman College taps Helene Gayle as next president