Clark Atlanta, Spelman inaugurate new presidents - Noteworthy News - Walter D. Broadnax, Beverly Daniel Tatum - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, April 10, 2003

ATLANTA

Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College held inauguration ceremonies for their new presidents last month. Dr. Walter D. Broadnax, who assumed leadership of Clark Atlanta University last August, was sworn into office on March 21 at that campus' Symphony Hall. The celebration punctuated that campus' annual Founders Week observance.

Broadnax is a leading public policy scholar who served as dean of the School of Public Affairs at American University prior to coming to Atlanta University.

"Walter Broadnax brings to CAU a unique skill set at the fight time and place," says Carl Ware, chairman of the AU board of trustees and executive vice president of Coca-Cola. "In the short time that he has been president, Walter has made tremendous progress toward positioning CAU to become a more student-centered and quality-driven institution.

"The entire Clark Atlanta University family welcomes Dr. Broadnax, a distinguished scholar and practitioner and a new leader to the Atlanta community," Ware says.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Spelman College swore in Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum as its ninth president.

Like Broadnax, Tatum assumed her new duties last summer. The clinical psychologist and race relations expert had previously served as acting president at Mt. Holyoke College, Massachusetts, also a women's college. Tatum is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race.

Born in Tallahassee, Fla., during her father's tenure at Florida A&M University, Tatum is a fourth-generation college professor.

Tatum characterizes her decision to come to Spelman as answering a calling.

"I am proud to be the president of an institution with a longstanding commitment to academic excellence, leadership and positive social change," she said.