Independent Sector to Honor Educator and Advocate Johnnetta B. Cole with the 2006 John W. Gardner Leadership Award

Johnnetta B. Cole

(Washington, D.C. May 31, 2006) – Independent Sector will honor Johnnetta B. Cole, president of Bennett College for Women, with the 2006 John W. Gardner Leadership Award in recognition of her lifelong commitment to advancing social justice, both domestically and internationally.

Dr. Cole will be honored at the 2006 Independent Sector Annual Conference in Minneapolis/St. Paul, October 22 to 24. The award includes a gift of $10,000 and a replica of an original bust of John Gardner by the late sculptor Frederick Hart.

The award is named after John Gardner, the founding chair of Independent Sector. An advisor to six presidents and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, Mr. Gardner was an active and distinguished participant in America 's educational, philanthropic, and political life, and his many achievements demonstrate the ideals this award celebrates.

Contact IS Media Relations Matthew Briggs Associate Media and Communications office: 202-467-6134 cell: 202-641-1202 (after hours) matthewb@independentsector.org Brenda C. Siler Vice President Communications and Marketing office: 202-467-6132 cell: 202-257-7242 (after hours) brendas@independentsector.org

Dr. Cole is a prominent educator, scholar, author, humanitarian, and community leader, whose academic career spans over 30 years. In 1987, Dr. Cole became the first African American female president of Spelman College in Atlanta, one of the nation's two historically black colleges for women. Affectionately called “Sister President,” Dr. Cole's leadership and her belief in racial and gender equality helped increase Spelman's academic standards, its national prominence, and its endowment. During Dr. Cole's tenure, Spelman became the first historically black institution to be ranked as the top liberal arts college in the South by U.S. News and World Report.

Dr. Cole continued her tradition of strong leadership in 2002 when she became the president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina, the country's only other college dedicated to the education of African American women. Dr. Cole has guided the institution into a period of renewal.  Through the Revitalizing Bennett Campaign, with former Senator Robert Dole and author Maya Angelou as its honorary co-chairs, Dr. Cole has involved leaders from the worlds of academia, business, and philanthropy to raise over $25 million to date toward its $50 million goal.

Dr. Cole's career as an educator also includes professorships at Washington State University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Hunter College of the City University of New York, and Emory University in Atlanta. 

Dr. Cole's commitment to improving society extends beyond higher education. A passionate proponent of the causes of civil and human rights, and an expert on cross-cultural issues of race, gender, and class, and other systems of inequality, Dr. Cole has spent a lifetime advocating for others and mentoring countless aspiring leaders. She draws on her training as an anthropologist as she celebrates the commonalities and differences among the world's people. An accomplished author, she has boldly shared her views on issues of racial and gender discrimination, diversity, and leadership through her writing and her advocacy. Her books include Dream the Boldest Dreams: And Other Lessons of Life, Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women's Equality in African American Communities, and Conversations: Straight Talk with America's Sister President.

Besides serving as a role model and mentor throughout her academic career, Dr. Cole has been a “big sister” since 1997 through Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Dr. Cole has volunteered her leadership to the United Way movement on a community and national level.  She served as the board chair for the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta from 1996 to 1997 as the organization moved its focus toward community impact results. She founded the African-American initiative in Atlanta's United Way, and is one of three founding members of the chapter's United Way Women's Initiative. From 2004 to 2006, she chaired the board of trustees of United Way of America -- and was the first person of color to hold that position. In 2001, she was honored with the United Way of America Alexis de Tocqueville Award for Community Service.

Dr. Cole is currently the honorary chair of the national United Way Women's Leadership Council. In addition, she serves on the board of the United Way of Greater Greensboro, and is the honorary chair of its African American Leadership Giving Initiative, and a member of the Greensboro United Way's women's leadership initiative.

Dr. Cole currently serves on the boards of numerous for-profit and charitable organizations, including America's Promise, National Visionary Leadership Project, and the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc. Her past board service has included: Gallaudet University, the country's leading higher education institution for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing; The Carter Center; Trans-Africa Forum; Home Depot; Coca-Cola Enterprises; and the Atlanta Falcons. Dr. Cole is a member of the Citizens Advisory Group of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, which was convened by Independent Sector to strengthen the accountability, governance, and transparency of the charitable sector.

“Dr. Cole's dedication to education and uplifting young people, her vision of engaging all sectors in the work of strengthening our society, and her commitment to building a democracy of which every American can be proud are among the hallmarks of her leadership,” said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector. “Johnnetta has dedicated herself to helping others with a vision of a more hopeful future. These qualities, along with her recognition of the importance of education as a means to ensure opportunity to all, clearly illustrate the ideals of this award.”

The John W. Gardner Leadership Award was established by Independent Sector in 1985 to honor outstanding Americans who exemplify the leadership and ideals of John Gardner. The award pays tribute to a leader working in or with the charitable community who has mobilized and unified people, institutions, or causes in order to raise the capacity of others to contribute to the common good. The award honors visionaries who have empowered constituencies, strengthened participation, and inspired movements.

The John W. Gardner Leadership Award is sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundations.

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Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 600 charities, foundations, and corporate philanthropy programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit community.