Mary Schmidt Campbell

Mary Schmidt Campbell has served as president of Spelman College in Georgia since 2015. She previously served as dean of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she founded and chaired the department of art and public policy. Earlier, she was commissioner of the department of cultural affairs for New York City. Campbell has taken a leading role in addressing the racial unrest and cries for social justice in Atlanta following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others. At Spelman, she has launched “Imagine. Invent. Ascend,” a bold strategic vision that builds on Spelman’s legendary legacy to educate Black women for the 21st century. Campbell is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was appointed by President Barack Obama as vice chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in 2009. She received the Hooks National Book Award for
An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden (2018).