Daughters of the dream: Bennett College, one of only two colleges for Black women, had recently fallen on tough times. Now, led by the visionary Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, it's blending the traditions of the past with present-day needs to secure its future

It's a special night on the beautiful campus of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina. Young women in colorful gowns and strappy heels parade down the aisles of the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Chapel. The sound of applause rings from the packed mahogany pews up to the rafters as friends and family witness the coronation of Miss Bennett College, her royal court and dozens of other campus queens. The lavish ceremony, now part of the school's annual Family and Friends Weekend, is one of many time-honored traditions at this 132-year-old historically Black women's college.

As Carah L.B. Herring, Miss Bennett College 2004-2005, takes her royal stroll dressed in white and a fur stole, all eyes are on this petite, pretty senior who embodies achievement, elegance and confidence. The daughter of a doctor and a teacher, she's a third-generation Bennett student with a 4.0 average. Herring beams as a glittering tiara is gently placed atop her sleek upsweep. So do her guests--about 35 relatives and childhood friends--who've traveled from around the country to share this moment.

Way back in the church vestibule, nearly out of sight, is another Bennett student, Deneshia Woods. The baby-faced "freshwoman" is not part of the pageantry. Unlike the dressy crowd that's assembled, she wears a basic shirt and pants and looks worn out from her recent shift at McDonald's. She takes in the festivities with wide-eyed wonder, gazing with a wistful smile.

Woods, a Philadelphia native, did not grow up in a tight-knit middle-class family, but in foster homes, including one where food was sometimes denied and she endured sexual abuse. Later she was placed in a girls' group home, where a surrogate mother was kind, but scars of the past haunted her. Pregnant by age 17, Woods dropped out of high school in the eleventh grade, moved to Greensboro, married, and had another child. Her mother-in-law encouraged her to interview for Bennett's middle-college program, which helps struggling high-school girls earn their diplomas and aim for college. Scholarships gave her the opportunity to enroll last fall, but it's tough juggling school, work and family. She desperately wants to succeed, but gets discouraged, wondering if she will make it through.

Not so long ago the same could be said of Bennett, which was literally fighting to survive. But the vastly differing life journeys of young women like Carah Herring and Deneshia Woods, whose paths intersect at the college largely because of the vision of its inimitable president Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, illustrates Bennett's critical mission and shows why this venerable institution is making a comeback.

Distinguished History, Recent Troubles

One of only two historically Black women's colleges in America--the other is Spelman College in Atlanta Bennett was founded in 1873 by newly emancipated slaves who held classes in a church basement. In 1926, the school was reorganized as a college for women, dedicated to educating strong Black-female leaders. For decades the college drew the creme de la creme of bourgeois Black America. During the school's heyday, from the 1930's to the fifties, Bennett Belles, as the students are called, often received job offers without need of an interview, based on the prestige of the college. Greensboro residents easily recognized Belles; they were required to wear hats and gloves when going into town. They epitomized class and intellectual pedigree, earning the school its nickname, the Vassar of the South.

Yet this small, private, liberal-arts bastion began floundering in the last decade or so, battling major challenges to keep the doors open. Things became so bleak that The Chronicle of Higher Education asked in a 2002 article, "Can Bennett College Be Saved?" As one Greensboro newspaper put it, "Poor leadership, crushing debt, declining enrollment, deteriorating campus facilities and lousy press all combined to suggest the worst."

In 2001, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the Atlanta-based regional accrediting body, placed Bennett on probation for fiscal instability, a sanction that stretched from one year to two. The looming threat was serious. Without accreditation, schools lose eligibility for state and federal funding, impacting operating budgets and overall progress.

"Historically Black colleges still produce most of the nation's African-American graduates and leaders, but some schools continue to struggle," says Wilbert Bryant, a staffer at the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which works to strengthen the nation's 105 HBCUs. Financial support, "good leadership and governance" will save the schools, he says.

Enter Cole, 68, who arrived at Bennett in July 2002. The educator, author and anthropologist is perhaps best known as the first African-American woman to head Spelman College, elevating it to national prominence during her ten-year tenure, raising record millions of dollars and tripling its endowment. Now "Sister President" is spearheading a renaissance at the 500-student Bennett. The changes in less than three years have been spectacular. A $3.8 million deficit has been erased. There's an $800,000 budget surplus. Enrollment, alumnae giving, corporate sponsorship and foundation support are up. New academic programs have been established. Morale is soaring, and the probation has been lifted.

"Bennett was desperate for the hands, mind and heart of a tough-minded, tenderhearted president," says poet Maya Angelou, a trustee who lured her friend Cole out of retirement. "We needed a leader who understood that education, not learning by rote, is the only way we will ever be free."

Building on Tradition

Part of Bennett's success can be attributed to melding longstanding tradition with contemporary student needs. Students still are welcomed each school year at the White Breakfast, where young women dress in white. The dining-hall menu often includes grits, okra and fried fish. Over in Barge Hall, Ms. Cheston, the resident director, maintains the same strict curfews she's had for 20 years. Entering Bennett Belles are required to take lessons on dining etiquette.

Yet the new-millennium Bennett women represent a much broader cross-section of Black life--socially, economically, scholastically and geographically--than in generations past. They hail from across the United States and 11 foreign countries. With tuition, room, board and fees at Bennett running about $17,000, approximately 90 percent receive some form of financial aid. And while Bennett attracts its share of students with stellar grade-point averages and SAT scores, just as many have spotty academic records.

"We welcome, work with and graduate women with academic promise as well as prowess," explains Cole over a meal at the President's House, filled with African masks, African-American art, family heirlooms and treasures collected from her world travels. "Some students come from a challenged background academically and financially--neither of which is their fault," says Cole, who can tell stories about girls who arrive on buses with $6 in their pockets. "Why should we penalize them? We need to lift them up. And we do."

Some are reached through the school's middle-college program, which enrolls high-school students battling such obstacles as pregnancy and family dysfunction. They learn in small classes, where they receive personal attention, graduating with high-school diplomas and a bridge to Bennett. The program graduated its first class of 11 students, including Woods, last year. "I've always wanted to go to college," says Woods. "I hope I can make it. I love everything about being here."

So does Herring, who, like Woods, craves the sisterhood that is stressed and genuinely seems to exist on campus.

"It's a place to develop as an African-American woman," says Herring, past editor of the campus newspaper, who has spent summers interning with Citigroup and The New York Times. "The academic support and learning are important, but it's not 100 percent about schoolwork. Bennett is educating women holistically."

That's exactly the message Cole wants students to absorb.

"More than anything else, I hope Bennett women can serve others," says Cole. "There is such a difference between being a servant--Black women have a horrific history of doing that--and being of service."

Cole's own service to Bennett will continue until at least 2007; until then, she clocks countless hours generating support. "I'm here roughly 50 percent of my time," says Cole, who has implemented a Black women's studies program, a celebrity lecture series and an initiative to attract other students of color. "The other time is spent on the road, fund-raising."

Cole has already helped raise more than $10 million in the first 15 months of her administration and enlisted former U.S. Senator Bob Dole (whose wife, North Carolina's Senator Elizabeth Dole, is a Bennett supporter) to chair a $50 million dollar Revitalizing Bennett Campaign. Black Entertainment Television cofounder Sheila Crump Johnson has bestowed the largest individual gift: $1 million.

But despite all the rainmaking, Cole hasn't lost sight of her goal of educating the next generation of intelligent and socially conscious African-American women.

"I find so much joy in being in a learning community where the students are in some way reflective of who I am," says Cole. "I believe I did good work at Spelman, but I do believe my legacy is in what is being done at Bennett. Spelman, when I arrived, was solid and accomplished. To use a trite expression, I could help put the icing on the cake. Here at Bennett, we're baking the cake."

COPYRIGHT 2005 Essence Communications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group