A global public health expert who has helped the federal government with its COVID-19 vaccine outreach efforts may soon become Spelman College’s next president.
Dr. Helene Gayle is the finalist to lead the private, historically Black college for women, located near downtown Atlanta. Spelman’s board of trustees is scheduled to vote this evening on Gayle’s nomination.
“I feel like my background in public health and medicine and in the sciences can be a real value,” Gayle told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Spelman’s current president, Mary Schmidt Campbell, is retiring in June.
Gayle, 66, currently leads the Chicago Community Trust, an organization that works to address wealth and equity gaps in that region. She was co-chair of a federal committee that worked to ensure equitable allocations of COVID-19 vaccines.
Gayle said her primary goal is making Spelman more affordable for students. Many of Spelman’s 2,200 students come from low-income households. About 80% of its students are taking out federal student loans, according to federal government data.
Gayle has Atlanta roots through her prior work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as CARE USA’s CEO for about nine years. Music superstar Bono once called Gayle “my queen” for her advice on how his nonprofit should address poverty and disease.
One potential challenge for Gayle in leading Spelman is she has no administrative experience in higher education. Gayle, though, said she feels “very comfortable” in higher education, noting she’s been an adjunct professor at Emory University and at the University of Washington.
Spelman board member Kaye Foster said the lack of management experience in higher education was not a concern for the board. Foster said Gayle’s work in underserved communities, implementing strategies in combating HIV/AIDS at the CDC and growing the trust’s assets from about $3 billion to roughly $4.5 billion made her the best of among 300 candidates Spelman’s board considered for the job.
Gayle’s expertise in public health was also a plus, said Foster, the presidential search committee chair.
“She has made choices to change the world in every domain that she’s been in,” Foster said in an interview.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Spelman is widely considered one of the nation’s best women’s colleges. Its six-year graduation rate is 77%, the highest of any HBCU.
Spelman has received an influx of large donations in recent years. Yet, Campbell has noted, it needs better student housing and technological upgrades.
Gayle said her goals include growing Spelman’s online program for adult learners, which the college launched last year. She also wants to enhance the college’s recent efforts to provide more courses and resources for students in science, technology, engineering and math.
Gayle believes Spelman — through STEM courses and its liberal arts curriculum — can play a major role in helping “young people prepare to solve the problems of yesterday and today, but not only that, but those of the future.”
Dr. Helene Gayle
Age: 66
Current Position: Chicago Community Trust president and chief executive officer
Past experience: Worked at the CDC from 1984 to 2001, specializing in HIV/AIDS prevention. Director of HIV, TB and Reproductive Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2001 to 2006. CARE USA CEO from 2006 to 2015. CEO of the McKinsey Social Initiative from 2015 to 2017.
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Barnard College. Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. Medical degree from University of Pennsylvania.
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