On October 13, 2023, the Spelman College Camille Olivia Hanks, Ed.D., Academic Center auditorium buzzed with excitement and anticipation as students, alumnae and Atlanta technology professionals gathered to learn about the future of innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and to celebrate Black women as disruptors in tech.
Spelman College hosted the Equity in Innovation Symposium in collaboration with Google to celebrate Google.org’s (Google's charitable arm) $5 million dollar grant to Spelman College in 2022. The grant supports the creation of an extensive data hub, which will track the contributions of Black, Latina and Indigenous women in STEM. “This grant has allowed us to advance a strategic goal of the [Spelman College] Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, and that is really to become the leading global hub for the development and dissemination of research data and curriculum focused on Black Women in STEM,” said Tinaz Pavri, Ph.D., division chair of Humanities and Social Science at Spelman College, who has helped lead the creation of the data hub.
Highlights of the event included “AI Lightning Talks”, examining how artificial intelligence intersects with education, cybersecurity, advocacy and the arts. Lightning Talk speakers included Google cloud leaders Francine Marqui and Spelman mom Willa Blasingame (mother of Class of 2023 valedictorian Maya Blasingame) and Spelman professors Khalilah Ali, Ph.D., T. Lang, and Jaye Nias, Ph.D.
Ada Renee Johnson, C’2000, who serves as the change implementation, strategy & innovation manager in Google People Operations, expressed her enthusiasm about the event and its significance. "This symposium helped to address the systemic barriers that have historically excluded underrepresented groups from the tech industry,” Johnson said. “It was a reminder that when we invest in diverse voices, we foster a more inclusive and innovative future for all."
Additionally, participants enjoyed a fireside chat featuring Spelman President Helene Gayle and Google's Chief Diversity Officer Melonie Parker, discussing opportunities for Black women in technology.
During the discussion, Parker expanded upon Google's vision for supporting Spelman. “We want to make sure that you have the resources you need to the degree that we are able to continue to develop leaders here at Spelman and that we’re [delivering] talent back to the greater global society that has the training that they need and the access that they need.” To learn more about event speakers, view photos, and watch the event replay, click here.
About Spelman College
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, the College’s picturesque campus is home to 2,300 students. Spelman is the country's leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.Ds. in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.Ds. in economics. New majors and minors have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, data science, refugee studies and gaming. Collaborations have been also established with MIT’s Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning, among others.
Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, former Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, Harvard University professor and former Dean Evelynn Hammonds, actress and producer Latanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones.
To learn more, please visit spelman.edu and @spelmancollege on social media.