 Janetta B. Cole was on a fast track from a very early age and set off for college at just 15. She became a renowned anthropologist dedicating her work to a wide range of issues from labor relations in Liberia to gender inequality in Haiti. But it is as a leader and an inspiration to young black women in America that Dr. Cole has really made her mark. In 1987, she became the first black woman to be president of Spellman College, one of the most respected institutions of higher learning in the United States. During her long tenure as president there, Dr. Cole renewed the school sense of mission. She was a powerful force behind unprecedented growth in fundraising and top ratings for academic achievement. Since then, Dr. Cole has gone on to teach at Emory University and once again took the reins as the president of a traditionally black women's college when she became the president of Bennett College in 2002. Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Janetta B. Cole. My sister's all and the righteous brothers who are here with us. This is no ordinary evening. I am deeply, deeply honored to receive this award. And in response, I would like to share with you three lessons, now four, give me four, that my mom taught me. The first, a woman will be known by the company she keeps. And what extraordinary company I am keeping this evening. A second lesson from Mary Frances Lewis-Betch, who was and always will be my shero. She said in response to racism and sexism, my daughter, you're going to have to be twice as good to get half as far. And importantly, my mom believed that I could do that. The third lesson that I carry with me always is this. She said, you know, if you're ever the first to do something, you must vow to never be the last. Work with others to make sure that you are first, but never last. And then the final lesson that my mom taught me that seems so appropriate tonight is this. She said education is really about coming to understand the world better. But you will not be an educated person unless you also come to understand your responsibility to help to make the world better. And so tonight, as one of the first deeds, I want to simply open my arms with enormous gratitude to my colleague, Arnold Naiman, to an exceptional and stunningly effective woman, Elizabeth Sackler. To the artist every woman ought to wish she could be, Judy Chicago. To my sister friend, Gloria Stein. Not from the top, not from the middle, but from the bottom of my heart. I thank you all.