Newspaper Page Text
Spelman Spotlight
Page 6
Spelman Recognizes
"Philanthropy and Black Higher Education"
Speaking
of
Spelman
By LaWanda M. Freeman
On Thursday, April 11, 1991,
Spelman celebrated her 110th Birthday.
The theme for Founders Day is
"Philanthropy in Black Higher
Education."
Many philanthropists have given to
the Spelman family since its beginnings
in 1881, and several of these people
are also alumnae of Spelman.
Dr. Mary Brookins Ross (C’28),
president of the Women’s Convention
Auxiliary to the National Baptist
Convention, chaired the Spelman
College Annual Alumnae Fund Drive
1987-88, a nationwide fundraising
campaign, where 25 percent of
Spelman’s alumnae participated to raise
over $250,000. Dr. Ross, who
now lives in Detroit, was personally
responsible for raising $85,000. She
received an honorary degree, Doctor of
Humane Letters, from Spelman in
1981.
Dr. Ross was listed in the Who’s
Who in United States Executives-1989
and in the same year was awarded the
Third Annual Founders Spirit Award
by our dear Sister President Dr. Cole.
Dr. Myra Smith Taylor (C’61) is
another graduate of Spelman who has
been dedicated to giving. Dr. Taylor
was named First Vice President of the
Woman’s Convention Auxiliary to the
National Baptist Convention in
November of 1987.
Dr. Taylor, a member of the
Presidents Society, is a dedicated
religious worker and former managing
editor of the Mission, the quarterly
magazine of the Women’s Baptist
Convention. Dr. Taylor now lives here
in Atlanta.
A number of alumnae-coordinated
activities have helped to give Spelman
recognition in various major cities
across the country and one such event
was a reception held in Washington,
D.C., by Dr. Audrey Forbes Manley
(C*55) in honor of Dr. Cole, during the
1989-90 annual fundraising drive.
Dr. Manley, the Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Health in the nation’s
capital, gave the 1989 Founders Day
address. She graduated from Johns
Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public
Health with a master’s in Public Health.
Dr. Manley chaired the Spelman
College Annual Alumnae Fund Drive
for two terms in 1989-91 and raised
nearly $700,000.
Through the efforts of Elynor A.
Williams (C’66), Chicago’s major
corporations and foundations learned of
Spelman and her great programs. Ms.
Williams is the Vice President of
Public Responsibility at Sara Lee
Corporation and lives in Chicago.
Two other alumnae responsible for
laige contributions to Spelman are Mrs.
Estelle Bailey Webster (C’29), a retired
teacher and children’s librarian, living
in Detroit, and Ms. Carolyn Smith
Stallworth (C’69), the Area Education
Systems Manager for IBM. Both
ladies are members of the Presidents
Society.
Spelman has received millions of
dollars from generous people such as
the Cosbys. In November of 1988 at
the inauguration of our Sister President,
Dr. William and Camille Cosby gave
Spelman $20 million. Approximately
60 percent of this money will go to the
building and furnishing of the Camille
Olivia Hanks Cosby Academic Center.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the
Cosby Building took place on Founders
Day at 2 p.m. following the Founder’s
Day Picnic.
The remainder of the Cosby Gift
has been set aside for an endowment
fund used for the overall benefit of the
college including the endowment of
Spelman’s first three chairs in the fields
of Fine Arts, Social Sciences, and
Humanities.
The Rockefeller family has been a
large contributor to Spelman over the
years and it was in 1884 that the
Rockefellers made their first
contribution to our institution and her
name was officially changed from
Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary to
Spelman Seminary, in honor of Mrs.
Harvey Spelman, Mrs. John D.
Rockefeller’s mother.
This contribution led to the
building of Spelman’s first major
construction, Rockefeller Hall in 1886.
The Rockefeller family continued
their generosity and made several
contributipns to Spelman which led to
the construction of several other
buildings on our campus, including
Giles Hall, l^aura Spelman dormitory (a
memorial to Laura Spelman
Rockefeller), Sisters Chapel (dedicated
by John D. Rockefeller in honor of his
mother and aunt, the Spelman sisters),
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Hall (named
for Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.), the
John D. Rockefeller Jr. Fine Arts
Building, Bessie Strong dormitory,
Morehouse James dormitory, MacVicar
Hospital, Reynolds Cottage, the
Fountain, and the fence surrounding
our campus.
By Elisa Smith
During convocation Tuesday, April
9, three Spelman students were
presented monetary awards for their
participation in the Founders Day Essay
Contest.
Connie Marshall, the Business
Development Manager for Youth and
Ethnic Markets at the Atlanta Coca-
Cola Bottling Co., presented Crystal
Irene Drake with $500 for her winning
essay on the theme "What I Value
Most About My Spelman Experience."
In her essay, the rising senior
English major stated that Spelman’s
most valuable gift to her has been "the
honest chance and honest space to
decide what my dreams are while
being encouraged and challenged to
make sure they reflect the reality of
what it is to be black and female in
America, and in the world. . .
"Spelman affirmed an idea that has
been a part of my life since its
beginning; I must completely and with
all my zeal, love for the sake of loving
and work for the sake of others. The
first woman I ever knew, the first one
I ever loved, my mother, a Spelman
woman, taught me that."
Her reading of this essay yielded a
standing ovation from her Spelman
sisters.
Heather Meisenheimer, an exchange
student from Bryn Mawr College in
Philadelphia, won second place and
was awarded $300.
Meisenheimer, who is from
Wisconsin, plans to enroll in a law
program upon completion of Spelman
this spring.
Freshman English major Omnika
Simmons, who is from Mississippi,
won $200 for third place in the
contest.
The contest was co-sponsored by
the Spelman Student Affairs Division
and the Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Co.