KNOXVILLE — A leader of the nation’s black colleges and the spiritual head of one of the largest U.S. child advocacy groups both will speak here April 12.
The Rev. Dr. Joan Parrott, vice president of Leadership Development and Spiritual Renewal for the Children’s Defense Fund, will speak at 8:45 a.m. in the University of Tennessee Conference Center Auditorium.
Dr. Frederick S. Humphries, president of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education — an advocacy group for the nation’s historically and predominantly black colleges and universities — will speak at noon in room 413 of the conference center.
Parrott, a native of Newark, N.J., heads the CDF center at the
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The Rev. Dr. Joan Parrott |
former Alex Haley Farm in Clinton, Tenn.
Her educational background included graduating from Union Theological Seminary in New York; Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Switzerland; and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Community Builder Fellowship Program.
She is the first woman ordained in the 135-year history of the Bethany Baptist Church in Newark.
Humphries, a native of Apalachicola, Fla., graduated from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, served in the U.S. Army, and earned his doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh.
He was president of Tennessee State University from 1974 to 1985, and president of Florida A&M from 1985 to 2001. Under his guidance, Florida A&M for two years led all U.S. schools in enrolling National Achievement Scholars.
Both talks are part of the University of Tennessee Black Faculty and Staff Association annual conference.
The conference also includes a presentation on the Geier Decree by Theotis Robinson, UT vice president for Equity and Diversity, at 10:15 a.m. in the center auditorium, and workshops on professional development, financial management and other topics.
The program is free and open to the public but registration is required.
For more information, contact Dr. Stan L. Bowie at (865) 974-3352.