Angela Sims is the new president of the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, and the first African-American woman to lead a Rochester college.
At the announcement in Rochester City Hall, she said something like this happening 200 years ago would have seemed impossible.
"One hundred years later, this moment might have been only a fleeting thought. But today, I look back while moving forward; ever mindful that in each generation there is indeed a great cloud of witnesses who serve as trailblazers for those who are yet to be."
Most recently, Sims spent nearly 12 years with Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas and Oklahoma, serving as their vice president of institutional advancement since 2017. Her work focuses on the ethical implications of lynching and poverty related issues.
Sims is the college’s 13th president. She talked about some of the changes coming to the school.
"A campus relocation which offers opportunities to imagine living laboratories and experiential learning. Use of technology to build community, while simultaneously expanding the schools presence and reach."
The school is moving this year to a new location at 320 North Goodman Street.
Her appointment, replacing Marvin McMickle, who is retiring, is effective July 1st.