Director of the National Museum of African Art to Speak at NCS

Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (NMAfA), will speak at the NCS Upper School Assembly on Dec. 18. Her appearance, at 10:20 am in Procter Gym, is the first in a series of Upper School Assembly speakers sponsored by NCS’s Center for Ethical Leadership and Service (CELS).

Before assuming her current position as NMAfA’s director, Dr. Cole had a long and distinguished career as an educator and humanitarian. Through her work as a college president, university professor and through her published works, speeches and community service, she has consistently addressed racial, gender, and all other forms of inequality. In 2010, Ebony Magazine listed her among the 100 most influential African Americans, and in 2011 Washingtonian Magazine listed her among Washington, DC’s most powerful women.

Dr. Cole is the only person to have served as president of both Spelman College and Bennett College for Women, two historically Black colleges for women. She made history in 1987 when she became the first African-American woman to serve as president of Spelman College, which was named the number one liberal arts college of the South during her presidency. During her time at Bennett College for Women, an art gallery was opened and programs were initiated in women’s studies and global studies. Dr. Cole is also professor emerita of Emory University, from which she retired as Presidential Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Women’s Studies and African American Studies.

After completing her undergraduate studies at Oberlin College, Johnnetta Cole earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Northwestern University with a focus on African Studies.
The museum Dr. Cole heads today has over 10,000 objects representing nearly every area of the continent of Africa, in a variety of media and art forms. Dr. Cole also currently serves on the scholarly advisory board for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the construction of which will be completed on the National Mall by 2015.

Parents and alumnae are welcome to attend Dr. Cole’s presentation, as well as the reception that will be held in the Teaching and Learning Center, Scott Hall, immediately following her talk.

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    • Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the National Museum of African Art.