Past and Current Black Leaders

Leading While Black highlights the stories and legacy of Black university leaders whose contributions, stretching from 1970 to contemporary times, reveal a strong legacy of Black administrative leadership at Tufts. Our aim was not to be comprehensive—we have not been able to feature all our past leaders—but to be representative. In addition, we have not told the stories of the many Black faculty, staff, and students who have led Tufts in crucial ways over the past five decades and more.

We honor the Black leaders from Tufts University’s past:

  • Floyd Atkins, Assistant Dean of Students, Tufts University School of Medicine

  • Brigette Bryant, Senior Director of Development

  • Nandi Bynoe, Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, School of Arts and Sciences

  • Robin Glover, Associate Dean of Public Health and Professional Degree Programs, and Chief Diversity Officer ad interim, Boston and Grafton campuses

  • Denise Phillips, Interim Director, Africana Center

  • Karen Richardson, Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management, School of Arts and Sciences

  • Jim Rollins, Director of Finance and Administration, The Fletcher School

  • Branwen Smith-King, Coordinator of Physical Education, and Assistant Athletic Director

We celebrate current Black leaders, representatives of the ongoing legacy of Leading While Black:

  • Janetrix Hellen Amuguni, Associate Professor, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

  • Damian Archer, Assistant Dean of Multicultural Affairs, School of Medicine

  • Joy Boggs, Director of Administration and Business Operations, The Fletcher School

  • Dayna Cunningham, Dean, Tisch College

  • Jackie Dejean, Associate Dean of Research, and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

  • Janice Gilkes, Assistant Dean of Student Services, School of Medicine

  • Ellise LaMotte, Associate Dean of Student Diversity, Inclusion, and Success, and Director of the Center for STEM Diversity, School of Arts and Sciences

  • Miriam McLean, Director of Development, University Initiatives

  • Katrina Moore, Senior Director, Africana Center

  • Ellen Pinderhughes, Professor of Child Study and Human Development, Eliot-Pearson Center, School of Arts and Sciences

  • Jeanette Sabir-Holloway, Assistant Professor, and Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, School of Medicine

  • Joyce Sackey, Associate Provost and Chief Diversity Officer, Dean for Multicultural Affairs and Global Health, and Dr. Jane Murphy Gaughan Professor and Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health and Community Medicine, School of Medicine

  • Yolanda Smith, Executive Director of Public Safety

  • Chris Swan, Associate Professor and Dean of Undergraduate Education, School of Engineering

  • Adrian Thomas, Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, The Fletcher School

  • Abi Williams, Director, Tufts Institute for Global Leadership

We are grateful that some of these stories are now being featured in the Coolidge Room, drawn from the work of our beloved colleague, the unofficial dean of the Black Tufts experience, the late Gerald Gill. We hope that these stories will continue to be recovered and widely shared by our community, and that we will all be inspired by them to continue to disrupt and transform our institution in the pursuit of greater equity and heightened excellence.