Biographical data for Trudie Kibbe Reed, Ed.D.

Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed is the fifth President of Bethune-Cookman College and the first woman to serve in this capacity since College founder Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.

She has previously served as the first woman president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Reed brings a wealth of experience and expertise as an educator, administrator, visionary, public speaker, fund raiser and student centered leader. She has developed the nation’s first academic minor in Black Families Studies and has broken fund-raising records over the past few years with $30.5 million raised, the most in the history of the college. She has consulted with the U.S. Secretary of Education and attended two United Nations Decade Conferences for Women in Copenhagen, Denmark and Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Reed was elected as the chair person of the Foundation for the Mid South and chairperson for the Council of Presidents of the Black College Fund. She was voted one of the 100 most successful Arkansas Women and serves on numerous other boards and organizations.

EDUCATION

Dr. Reed received B.A. and M.S.S.W. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, and her M.A. and Doctorate Degree from Columbia University.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Dr. Reed served 18 years as a senior level administrator with The United Methodist Church. At age 28, she became the youngest elected General Secretary (CEO). She developed and implemented educational programs for eight national agencies, seminaries, colleges and universities around the nation. She later served as an Associate General Secretary for the General Council on Ministries of The United Methodist Church where she led and coordinated the denomination’s first national initiatives in prison ministry, deaf ministry, and ministries by, with and for older adults. She drafted legislation and conceptualized a church wide study that developed into a major quadrennial emphasis for the denomination: “Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century.” Dr. Reed is a tenured professor and is nationally recognized as an outstanding fundraiser and college administrator. She has doubled the endowment for Philander Smith College and broken all fund raising records in the history of Philander Smith College. In a period of two years, Dr. Reed spearheaded a successful capital campaign that raised more than 30.5 million dollars.

From 1994-1998, Dr. Reed was Director of The Leadership Institute and Professor of Education at Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina where she founded and edited a refereed journal: “A Leadership Journal for Women: Women in Leadership - Sharing the Vision.” While in South Carolina, Dr. Reed was recognized for outstanding leadership by the Governor, voted “Business Woman of the Year” and received the Diamond Twin Award from the YWCA. Dr. Reed has taught in the doctoral program at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and in the Master’s Conflict Resolution program at Antioch University in Ohio.

Dr. Reed is married to Mr. Willie “Ed” Reed and has two sons. President Reed is also a member of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church and a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.