Oral history interview with Beverly Daniel Tatum, 2022
Abstract
Beverly Daniel Tatum discusses her presidency of Spelman College during the years of the Obama presidency, and reflects on the Obama administration's involvement with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). She recounts her experience of the 2008 Democratic primary and general election, and discusses Obama's presidential candidacy and careful navigation of race during the campaign, in cluding his March 2008 speech on race in Philadelphia. Tatum shares her unique view of the financial crisis from her position at Spelman, and describes the consequences of reduced private student loan financing on Spelman's student body, the unique effects of financial crises and recessions on HBCUs, and her organization of fundraising campaigns to ensure that students could stay enrolled throughout the recession. Tatum also reflects on her interactions and engagement with Obama administration officials, including her service on the President's Board of Advisors on HBCUs, participation in administration symposia on higher education in the twenty-first century, and Michelle Obama's delivery of the commencement address to Spelman's graduating class in 2011. Also discussed are Tatum's experience on the President's Board of Advisors on HBCUs under President George W. Bush, the expansion of Pell Grant funding, the effects of eligibility changes for Parent PLUS loans, the My Brother's Keeper initiative, and Obama's understanding of the role of HBCUs in American higher education
Presidents--United States; Historically Black colleges and universities--United States; Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United States; Tatum, Beverly Daniel; Obama, Barack; President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (U.S.); United States. My Brother's Keeper Task Force; Spelman College
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
38 pages
Note (Biographical)
Beverly Daniel Tatum is a psychologist, university president, and educator. Tatum was a professor of psychology at Westfield State College and Mount Holyoke College. She served as the president of Spelman College from 2002 to 2015. Tatum is the author of "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race" and "Can We Talk about Race? And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation"
Note
Interviewed by Terrell D. Frazier on July 5, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Beverly Daniel Tatum, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023