Johnetta Cole, the first African-American female president of Spelman College, nation's premiere liberal arts schools, announced that she will relinquish the presidency next spring.

Cole's departure leaves members of the Spelman community wondering if the college can attract another visionary leader to take the helm as the 2,000-student college moves into the 21st century. Cole, 59, said she will join Emory University's faculty and teach anthropology after a one-year hiatus to work on a few books. She said she decided to leave Spelman after ten years because she has accomplished what she set out to do. "This was the most difficult of decisions, but it was the right decision," said Cole. "This college is not about to miss a beat. It will keep going."

Since Cole's tenure, the school's endowment has risen sharply from $40 million to more than $143 million. She heightened the awareness of the highly selective women's college, seeing its reputation soar. The school has a broader curriculum, is more competitive and completed a record-breaking $114 million fundraising campaign under Cole's leadership.

"Given the monumental job she has done at Spelman, I'm sure the search team will look at someone who will continue to advance the agenda Johnetta Cole had for that University. They can't waver too far," said N. Joyce Payne, director of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges' office of the advancement Of Public Colleges.

Payne said that educational leaders like Joyce Ladner, former interim president of Howard University, and Vera King Farris, president of Stockton State College in Stockton, N.J., are competent administrators who would be fine presidential candidates. "Both of these women have had their imprint on higher education," she said. "They have the kind of leadership style compatible with Spelman."