Adrian College presents honorary doctorate to trustee Sarah Shumate
Posted Tuesday, May 07, 2019
Dr. Sarah E. Shumate was conferred an honorary doctorate by Adrian College on Friday, May 5, during the college’s spring commencement. Shumate has been a trustee at the college for more than 30 years.
She spoke to the students about civic responsibility and encouraged them to support a cause right out of college.
Shumate graduated from Adrian College in 1970, earned a master’s degree in history from Carnegie-Mellon University and a master’s of education and Ph.D. in educational administration in higher education from Kent State University. Shumate served for 10 years as director of career planning and placement, then associate dean for student affairs at Kent State. Later Shumate served as vice president for student affairs at Central Washington University and at Florida’s St. Thomas University.
Shumate served on the Summit County Board of Education, where she made significant changes to the funding process for public schools, and for teachers to encourage diversity education programming at Hudson Public Schools. She also created the organizational groundwork for a Hudson High School Alumni Organization, which survives to this day.
Shumate’s long and generous service to Adrian College began as a student. She served as an officer for the Women’s Recreation Association, worked with the SAAC programming board, and was a member of Alpha Phi. While holding senior staff positions in higher education, Shumate was also a member of the Adrian College Alumni Board, and was recognized with the Young Alumni Achievement Award in 1989. Most recently, Shumate was honored with the Alumni Service Award in 2018.
She was appointed to Adrian College’s Board of Trustees in 1986 and has been a member ever since, serving on the Board’s executive and strategic planning committees. Shumate has been the secretary of the Board’s executive committee since 2010.
Dr. Shumate is dedicated to students and education. She created a scholarship at Adrian College, and serves as a mentor and role model to numerous minority and first generation students.
Sarah plans to return to her hometown in Northeastern Ohio this summer after spending many years as a resident of Florida.
