Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 4-20-18

Feature
Educator Retires To Focus On Special Interests
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
When it comes to accom- plishments, Dr. Joan Holmes has an impressive list.
She recently retired from Hillsborough Community College (HCC).
She joined the staff at HCC under the leadership of the late Dr. Gwendolyn Stephenson in September 2009.
Her role was Special As- sistant to the President for Equity, Diversity, and Spe- cial Programs. She was re- sponsible for the College leadership for diversity, hir- ing practices, and mediating equity conflicts.
Developing and imple- menting special programs under Title IX and EEOC compliance was also part of her responsibilities.
Dr. Holmes said, “I was instrumental in diversifying campus leadership for facul- ty, campus deans and cam- pus presidents. We hired the first academic Black male dean and the first Hispanic female dean,” she said.
And the numbers sup- port her statements, since accepting the role, the col-
lege has moved from a ma- jority white student enroll- ment to a majority minority student enrollment.
Among her credits, Dr. Holmes developed and im- plemented the HOPE Scho- lars Program in 2010. That program targets Black and Latina men enrolled. It of- fers mentoring, as well as ac- ademic and personal support to increase the en- rollment, retention, gradua- tion, and transfer rate to 4-year colleges or universi- ties.
After Dr. Sylvia Carley retired, in 2012, Dr. Holmes became responsi- ble for the Black, Brown, and College Bound Program cre- ated and implemented by Dr. Carley.
During her tenure with the program, she was able to expand it and HCC was awarded one of the highest diversity awards last March at the National Convention of AACC (American Associa- tion of Community Col- leges).
Prior to working at Hills- borough Community Col- lege, Dr. Holmes was employed at the University of South Florida. She was the Assistant Dean in the
DR. JOAN HOLMES Retires after more than 31 years of service
USF Graduate School, and her responsibility included all diversity initiatives, fel- lowships, recruitment, ad- mission and student services.
Of her career, Dr. Holmes said, “I also wrote and was funded 9 federal grants designed to help dis- advantaged and low income students, including the Mc- Nair Scholars Program, stu- dent support Services, Jenkins Scholars Program and a NIH stem program.
“I am happy to have been instrumental with Diversity programs and initiatives at USF and HCC. But, I must admit HCC was one of the most rewarding and sup-
portive professional experi- ences I had throughout my 43 years career in higher ed- ucation.”
Before relocating to Tampa, Dr. Holmes was a faculty member in Educa- tion at Spelman College and Kennesaw University in At- lanta, Georgia.
A native of Florence, South Carolina, Dr. Holmes graduated from North Carolina A & T State University. She relocated to Tampa with her husband, the late Melvin Holmes, an NFL player who played
for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dr. Holmes, a new grandmother, has a son and
daughter.
Now that she is retired,
Dr. Holmes said she comes from a big football family and looks forward to enjoy- ing the games, whether in the stands or at home.
She also plans to travel and return to being a swim- ming instructor.
A member of Allen Tem- ple A. M. E. Church, Dr. Holmes will celebrate her 67th birthday on May 5, 2018.
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