Beverly Daniel Tatum is the current president of Spelman College, America's oldest historically black college for women.

Tatum received her B.A. in psychology from Wesleyan University and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. She also received an M.A. religious studies from Hartford Seminary. Tatum received a L.H.D. from Bates College in 2000.

In addition to being an accomplished administrator, Dr. Tatum is widely recognized as a scholar, teacher, race relations expert and leader in higher education. A clinical psychologist by training, her areas of research include racial identity development, and the role of race in the classroom. The recipient of numerous honorary degrees, in 2005 Dr. Tatum was awarded the prestigious Brock International Prize in Education for her innovative leadership in the field. Her best-selling titles include Can We Talk About Race? And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation (2007) and Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race (1997). She is also the author of Assimilation Blues: Black Families in a White Community (1987).

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