Meet the Reids, Irvin and Pamela. In the 1960s they were Howard University sweethearts. When they met and married, she was an undergrad and he was a graduate student. They had a boy and a girl, and earned doctorates together at the University of Pennsylvania. A decade ago he became a university president. And in October, he welcomed Pamela Trotman Reid, his wife of 41 years, “to the club” when she was named the new president of Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, Conn.
“It’s rare enough for a husband and wife to occupy university presidencies simultaneously, but I believe this is the first time in history it has occurred with an African-American couple,” says Dr. Irvin D. Reid, president of Wayne State University in Detroit. “This is indeed a delight for our entire family.”
Dr. Pamela Reid, a developmental psychologist, will begin her tenure at the small Catholic women’s college in January. She will also have the distinction of being the college’s first African-American president and the first one to be married, she says. Since July 2004, Reid has been Roosevelt University’s provost and executive vice president where she continues to hold the rank of professor of psychology and to maintain a National Science Foundation-sponsored program promoting math achievement among adolescent girls. Formerly director of the women’s studies program at the University of Michigan, for more than six years she was professor of education and psychology and also held a title of research scientist at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender.
Her husband, who became the first African-American president of Wayne State in 1997, announced in late September that he planned to step down from his post sometime next year. This month he will have served a decade there. It is time, Reid says. He knows that he has made his mark at the institution, and that he is ready for that “next thing.” Saying only that “his life’s work is in education,” Reid resists prodding, preferring to keep his future plans close to the vest. Reid also made it clear that he didn’t want the recent announcement of his resignation to eclipse his wife’s victory. He insists, “The spotlight should be on her.”
And for now, Pamela Reid says that she is “enjoying the attention” and the distinction that has come since her appointment. She knows that the day was destined to be because she and her husband worked toward it.
“We’re a team. It’s not a matter of taking turns leading but supporting the other in reaching our aspirations. The pride and joy I get from seeing Irv’s successes and accomplishments are well matched by the support and encouragement I get from him.”
