Carolynn Reid-Wallace

Carolynn Reid-Wallace (born June 26, 1942) is an American academic administrator who served as president of Fisk University from 2001 to 2003. She was the assistant secretary of education for postsecondary education from 1991 to 1993.

Life Reid-Wallace was born to Nathaniel H. Reid Jr. and Mary Reid on June 26, 1942, in Williamsburg, Virginia. She graduated from Fisk University with a B.A. in speech and drama in 1964. She earned an M.A. in dramatic literature from Adelphi University in 1965. From 1979 to 1980, she was the director of the NAFEO/NEH humanities program. Reid-Wallace was the director for the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education Clearinghouse (NAFEO) from 1981 to 1982. As secretary, she managed a budget of $12.5 billion of college grants, student loans, and the Federal Work-Study program. In 1999, she was one of five finalist to become chancellor of Indiana University Northwest. In 2001, Reid-Wallace became the first female president of Fisk University.

Personal life Reid married law student Addison Wallace. They moved to Washington, D.C. He died in 1970 from cancer when Reid was eight months pregnant with their first child.