Kara Tucina Olidge
Executive Director
Biography
Kara Tucina Olidge, PhD is a scholar and arts and educational administrator. She is the former Deputy Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a branch of the New York Public Library based in Harlem. Her scholarly work focuses on the intersection of art, critical cosmopolitanism, and community activism. She graduated from Spelman College in 1992 with a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy with a minor in Art History. Dr. Olidge received a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans in 2000, where she received the Marcus B. Christian Graduate Scholarship. In 2000, Dr. Olidge was one of four emerging arts administrators selected for the National Arts Administration Mentorship Program where Edmund Cardoni, Executive Director of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, mentored her. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo) in 2010, where she was awarded the Mark Diamond Research Grant for her doctoral work, Critical Cosmopolitanism and the Intellectual Work of Alain Locke.
Education
SUNY Buffalo
University of New Orleans
Spelman College
Media Appearances
Kara Olidge First Woman To Lead Amistad Research Center
As a native of New Orleans your new role represents a full circle moment for you. What does it mean to return to New Orleans in this capacity and to see the social and cultural shifts taking place there?
Kara Tucina Olidge: I am excited to be first woman executive director and it is such a milestone for me. This was my first internship and to start as an intern here and return to New Orleans as its executive director is very exciting.
