Carolynn Reid-Wallace Named 1st Female Prexy Of Fisk University

Jet, May 21, 2001

Carolynn Reid-Wallace of Washington, D.C., has recently been named the 13th president of Fisk University in Nashville, TN. She is also the first female and the second alumnus to hold the post at the 135-year-old historically Black, private university.

On July 1, 2001 Reid-Wallace, 58, will replace Dr. John L. Smith Jr., who is resigning the presidency after two years.

The president-elect has had a distinguished career as a teacher, scholar and academic administrator and as an education and policy leader in both public education and governmental institutions.

She served as assistant secretary for postsecondary education under Lamar Alexander at the U.S. Department of Education in 1991 and 1992. Most recently, she was senior vice president for education and programming with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

"I shall bring to this position my genuine commitment to quality and academic excellence," said Reid-Wallace, a 1964 Fisk graduate. "Five years from now I envision a Fisk University that will be second to none in the United States in the pursuit of excellence in the liberal arts."