Mission Accomplished!  Johnnetta Cole Stepping Down From Presidency of Bennett College

In 2002 Johnnetta Cole agreed to take on the presidency of Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. At that time the former Spelman College president gave herself five years to turn around the financially strapped college for black women.

This past week Dr. Cole announced that she would give up her post at the end of the 2006-07 academic year. During her tenure, Cole has balanced the college’s budget, raised $30 million, tripled the endowment, guided the college off an accreditation probation listing, increased enrollment, and made major improvements to the physical plant.

After stepping down as president, Cole will remain chair of the Global Diversity and Inclusion Institute at Bennett. She is remarrying and plans to write a book.

“I did good work at Spelman,” Cole said, when announcing she was stepping down, “but Bennett is my legacy.”

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