 Janet PurnellJanet
Purnell was born in Akron, Ohio on August 30, 1936. She attended Akron Public Schools and
studied education at the University of Akron, where she earned her B.S. in 1959 and her
M.S. in 1971.
For twenty-two years, Purnell worked for the Akron Public
Schools as both an elementary school teacher and principal. In 1967, she led alumnae in
successfully lobbying for the establishment of an anti-segregation policy on the
University of Akron campus.
In 1982, she became executive director of the Akron
Metropolitan Housing Authority. There she oversaw public housing for 20,000 residents and
served as a lobbyist on behalf of the forty largest housing authorities. She later entered
the private sector, acting as the CEO of Navic & Associates, where she served as a
local and national consultant on establishing diversity in the workplace.
In 1990, she returned to The University of Akron to sit on
the president's cabinet, overseeing all minority initiatives on campus. She later became
the first executive director of minority development. Purnell was responsible for securing
funding to support minority initiatives and distributing annual scholarship funds to
minority students. In honor of her appointment to chair of the University of Akron's Board
of Trustees, the Zeta Theta Omega Sorority established the Janet B. Purnell Project
Self-Sufficiency Endowment, which annually awards a scholarship to a single mother.
Purnell was also instrumental in establishing the Dr.
Shirla McClain Gallery of Akron’s Black History and Culture.
Janet B. Purnell was married to the late Norman Purnell.
They were parents to two sons. She passed away in November of 2008. |
