Johnnetta Cole

Johnnetta Cole
Cole in 2015
Personal details
Born
Johnnetta Betsch

(1936-10-19) October 19, 1936 (age 88)
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationFisk University
Oberlin College (BA)
Northwestern University (MA, PhD)

Johnnetta Betsch Cole (born October 19, 1936) is an American anthropologist, educator, museum director, and college president. Cole was the first female African-American president of Spelman College, a historically black college, serving from 1987 to 1997. She was president of Bennett College from 2002 to 2007. During 2009–2017 she was Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art.[1] Cole served as the national chair and 7th president for the National Council of Negro Women from 2018 to 2022.[2]

  1. ^ Trescott, Jacqueline (February 10, 2009). "Johnnetta Cole Named New Director of the National Museum of African Art". The Washington Post; accessed October 5, 2011.
  2. ^ "Johnnetta B. Cole". www.amacad.org. Cambridge, Massachusetts: American Academy of Arts and Sciences. September 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.