Announcing the Beverly Daniel Tatum Unity Center

In honor of Interim President Beverly Daniel Tatum’s distinguished service to Mount Holyoke College, the Board of Trustees dedicated the Unity Center in Blanchard Hall to Dr. Tatum during a special celebration on May 5, 2023.

Dr. Tatum served as a faculty member, dean and acting president of Mount Holyoke in the late 1990s, before being appointed president of Spelman College in 2002. She returned to Mount Holyoke’s campus as Interim President in the fall of 2022.

Dr. Tatum’s unwavering dedication to Mount Holyoke, her clear desire to foster collaboration and her willingness to share space and encourage partnership across differences have left an indelible mark on our campus. The naming of the Unity Center is particularly fitting given Dr. Tatum’s work toward building community during her year as interim president. During this time, Dr. Tatum facilitated difficult conversations on campus and prioritized Intergroup Dialogue through the naming of a Presidential Fellow and offering faculty/staff workshops.

The Beverly Daniel Tatum Unity Center will host intergroup dialogues and serves as the home of the MoZone Peer Educators, the First Generation and Low Income Partnership student organization (FLIP) and the SGA Students of Color Committee.

“To work effectively as an agent of change ... it is necessary to be able to connect with people different from oneself.”
—Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum