Dream the Boldest Dreams is an endowed scholarship in honor of Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, the first black woman president of Spelman College—a college founded specifically to educate Black women.  During her ten years as the first “Sister President” she transformed the institution through record breaking fundraising, innovative curricula, and representing Spelman at home and abroad.

 

The scholarship’s name is inspired by Dr. Cole’s teachings to the many students she has inspired through hands-on mentoring, classroom teaching, and constant embodiment of American excellence.  Housed at Spelman College, Dream The Boldest Dreams, will assist young women who are first-generation college students.  As this award is endowed, it will be granted in perpetuity.

 

This initiative was spearheaded by Spelman College alumnae, but the many donors and supporters represent the broad impact of Dr. Cole’s many passions, affiliations, and leadership positions.  In addition to serving as president of Spelman, Dr. Cole also helmed Bennett College.  She has served on numerous boards, including The Coca Cola company—where she was the first woman to hold this position.  After leaving Spelman, she served as a Presidential Professor of Anthropology and Women’s Studies at Emory University.  Oberlin College, Fisk University, and Northwestern University are proud to count her among their alumni.  As the director of the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, she started one of the first diversity and inclusion initiatives at a US art museum.  A member of Delta Sigma Theta, she currently serves as President of the Council of Negro Women.

 

These triumphs are well documented, but those who know her personally will testify to the intangible gifts she shares so liberally with all in her orbit.  Not only has she urged us to dream the boldest dreams, she models her own directive.  And through her words, deeds, and sterling example, she has made it possible for others to do the same.

 

This scholarship is a way for all of us to make bold dreams a reality for the next generation.  To quote the motto of Spelman College, it is a choice to change the world.