Pamela Gunter-Smith

Last updated

Pamela Gunter-Smith is the president of York College of Pennsylvania. She has served in administrative appointments at Spelman College and Drew University. She is an advocate for inclusion of women and historically underrepresented people in research.

Contents

Education

Pamela Gunter-Smith was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1951. [1] She was born into a family of scientists as her grandfather, William Gunter, was the diener of anatomy labs at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine for decades. [2] “My mother was a trailblazer – she was the first woman of color to receive a doctorate in her field from her institution. From her I learned how to navigate both a career and family,” Gunter-Smith said. [3]

Gunter-Smith earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Spelman College in 1973 and a Ph.D. in physiology from Emory University in 1978 [1] with the dissertation "The Effect of Theophylline on the transepithelial electrical parameters of amphiuma small intestine." [4] She engaged in post-doctoral research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Texas-Houston Medical School. [5]

Career

In 1981, she started as a research scientist at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) in Bethesda, Maryland where she worked for twelve years. [6] At this same time, she held academic appointments at George Washington University and the Uniformed Services University of Health Science from 1982 to 1992. [1]

She was appointed Chair of the Biology Department and Associate Provost for science and math at Spelman College in 1992. During this time she increased the number of research grants awarded to the institution and directed the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Biomedical Program at Spelman. She expanded fundraising and the development of institutional grants from both private foundations and federal agencies, which increased the opportunities for both faculty and students to engage in scientific research and training. [1]

In 2006 she was appointed as the first provost and academic vice president at Drew University in New Jersey. During her tenure, she shaped the direction and vision of the natural science programs and developed a successful strategic plan. [1] At Drew she assisted in the design of a new science facility to support STEM mission. Her programs, among them, implementing new graduate programs, impacted student retention and student diversity. She also led Drew's strategic planning and assessment efforts. [7]

York presidency

Gunter-Smith served as President of York College of Pennsylvania 2013- 2023. [8] She rationalized that the transition to administration would have a greater impact by helping many research projects over working on a single research project. She determined that her legacy would be to influence young women, particularly those of color, to achieve their own path. [9] She connected York College to York City through the opening of the Center for Community Engagement and Marketview Arts in downtown York. Both venues provide opportunities for students to engage with the local community through experiential learning and real-world problem-solving. She directed the creation of the Graham Center for Collaborative Innovation and the soon-to-be-completed York College Knowledge Park, [10] a learning laboratory that will enhance opportunities for students and faculty to interact with local businesses and organizations. She expanded the academic programs through a five-school structure and included online offerings. Under her direction, York launched the first comprehensive campaign, EVOLVE: A Campaign for York College, to fund strategic initiatives including support for scholarships that ensures that education remains accessible. [9]

As the first woman and person of color to serve as President of York College, Gunter-Smith embraced discussions of race and promoted a student-forward style of leadership. [11] She focused York College toward educating the whole student to participate in a diverse world. Gunter-Smith terms herself a 'servant-leader,' serving by example at the institution. [11] Her philosophy included the need to take risks and think outside the standard educational box as educational institutions move into the 21st century. [12] She plans to retire in June, 2023. [8]

Controversies

Billboard

During Gunter-Smith's presidency, York College of Pennsylvania created a billboard with the tagline "Envision the Possibilities" [13] . In an attempt to showcase diversity, the photograph used on the billboard was photoshopped to remove two white students who were replaced with "students who reflected diversity" [13] .

Art Exhibit

In 2017, Gunter-Smith approved an art exhibit to be exclusively open to students and their guests that depicted Ku Klux Klan members and used other racist language [14] . The intent of the exhibit was to raise awareness of racism through provocative imagery, however, many believed this to be ill-suited for a college campus [14] .

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith College</span> Womens liberal arts college in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is a member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. Smith is also a member of the Five College Consortium with four other institutions in the Pioneer Valley: Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst; students of each college are allowed to attend classes at any other member institution. On campus are Smith's Museum of Art and Botanic Garden, the latter designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spelman College</span> Private, historically Black womens college in Atlanta, Georgia, US

Spelman College is a private, historically Black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a founding member of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman awarded its first college degrees in 1901 and is the oldest private historically Black liberal arts institution for women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta University Center</span> Educational consortium of HBCUs in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The Atlanta University Center Consortium is a collaboration between four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in southwest Atlanta, Georgia: Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and the Morehouse School of Medicine. It is the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of African-American higher education institutions in the United States. The consortium structure allows for students to cross-register at the other institutions in order to attain a broader collegiate experience. They also share the Robert W. Woodruff Library, a dual degree engineering program, and career planning and placement services and the AUC Data Science Initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York College of Pennsylvania</span> Private college in Spring Garden Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.

York College of Pennsylvania is a private college in Spring Garden Township, Pennsylvania. It offers more than 70 baccalaureate majors in professional programs, the sciences, and humanities to 3,500 full-time undergraduate students. It also offers master's programs in business, public policy, education, and nursing, along with a doctoral program in nursing practice to over 400 postgraduate students.

Beverly Christine Daniel Tatum is an American psychologist, administrator, and educator who has conducted research and written books on the topic of racism. Focusing specifically on race in education, racial identity development in teenagers, and assimilation of black families and youth in white neighborhoods. Tatum uses works from her students, personal experience, and psychology learning. Tatum served from 2002 to 2015 as the ninth president of Spelman College, the oldest historically black women's college in the United States.

The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) located in Washington D.C. It is an organization of private American colleges and universities. Founded in 1976, it is made up of over 1,000 independent higher education institutions.

The EDGE Foundation is an organization which helps women get advanced degrees in mathematics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tori Haring-Smith</span> American academic administrator

Tori Haring-Smith is an American academic and the former president of Washington & Jefferson College.

The Black Ivy League refers to a segment of the historically black colleges (HBCUs) in the United States that attract the majority of high-performing or affluent Black students.

Susan Harriet Fuhrman is an American education policy scholar and served from 2006 as the first female president of Teachers College, Columbia University. Fuhrman earned her doctorate in Political Science and Education from Columbia University. She is an authority on school reform.

Rosalind "Roz" G. Brewer is an American businesswoman and former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, before stepping down in September 2023. Brewer is the first woman to become CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, group president and COO of Starbucks, and CEO of Sam's Club. She currently serves as a member of the President's Export Council.

The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics is a research center at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The center's mission is to "advance teaching and research on ethical issues in public life." It is named for Edmond J. Safra and Lily Safra and receives support from the Edmond J. Safra Foundation. The Center for Ethics was the first Interfaculty Initiative at Harvard University.

Chude Pamela Parker Allen, also known as Pamela Parker, Chude Pamela Allen, Chude Pam Allen, Pamela Allen, and Pam Allen is an American activist of the civil rights movement and women's liberation movement. She was a founder of New York Radical Women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiron Skinner</span> American writer (born 1961)

Kiron Kanina Skinner is a former Director of Policy Planning at the United States Department of State in the Trump administration. Skinner is presently the Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, where she teaches graduate courses in national security and public leadership. Prior to that, she was the Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at Carnegie Mellon University, and the founding director of the Institute for Politics and Strategy and associated centers at the university. She is also the W. Glenn Campbell Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution. After leaving the Department of State, she returned to her position at Carnegie Mellon University until stepping down in 2021.

Valerie Smith is an American academic administrator, professor, and scholar of African-American literature and culture. She is the 15th and current president of Swarthmore College.

<i>U.S. News & World Report</i> Best Colleges Ranking Annual ranking of American colleges and universities

The U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking is an annual set of rankings of colleges and universities in the United States, first published in 1983. It has been described as the most influential institutional ranking in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lily McNair</span> American psychologist

Lily McNair is an American academic administrator who served as the president of Tuskegee University, a historically black university in Tuskegee, Alabama, from 2018 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monica Cox</span> Engineer

Monica Farmer Cox is a professor of engineering education at Ohio State University. Cox was the first African-American woman to earn tenure in engineering at Purdue University. She won the 2008 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandeis Marshall</span> American data scientist

Brandeis Marshall is an American data scientist, CEO of DataedX, and Full Professor of Computer Science at Spelman College, where she is the former Chair of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences. Starting in September 2019, Marshall is a faculty associate at Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She has also worked to broaden participation in the field of data science to increase representation of underrepresented minorities, including her effort 'Black Women in Data'.

Ulrica Wilson is a mathematician specializing in the theory of noncommutative rings and in the combinatorics of matrices. She is an associate professor at Morehouse College, associate director of diversity and outreach at the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM), and a former vice president of the National Association of Mathematicians.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pamela Gunter-Smith's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  2. ↑ Whitney, Kathy. "Hidden VUMC Figures event honors unsung contributors". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  3. 1 2 gshpablog (2022-08-31). "Meet the Women of Distinction: STEM honoree Dr. Pamela Gunter-Smith". GSHPA Blog. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  4. ↑ Gunter-Smith, Pamela (1978). "Proquest". Proquest. ProQuest   302890192 . Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Pamela Gunter-Smith, Ph.D." www.ycp.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Pamela Gunter-Smith, Ph.D." www.ycp.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  7. ↑ admin (2013-03-13). "York College names Pamela Gunter-Smith president". Central Penn Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  8. 1 2 Vigna, Paul (2022-07-03). "York College of Pa. president plans to retire in June 2023". pennlive. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  9. 1 2 "Courage, Persistence, Resiliency | Dr. Pamela Gunter-Smith - Issuu". issuu. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  10. ↑ "Knowledge Park @ YCP". www.ycp.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  11. 1 2 "Retiring York College president discusses walking a fine political line". Higher Ed Dive. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  12. ↑ Pamela Gunter-Smith on the Need to Take Risks and Think Outside the Box , retrieved 2023-05-13
  13. 1 2 Jaschik, Scott. "When Colleges Seek Diversity Through Photoshop". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  14. 1 2 Jaschik, Scott. "Art About Racism: Closed to the Public". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  15. ↑ "Gunter-Smith named to state board of education". York Daily Record. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.