Document Type

Article

Abstract

Ambassador Cynthia Shepard Perry is perhaps best known for her role as Ambassador to the African nations of Sierra Leone, and Burundi, and as Executive Director of the African Development Bank in Tunisia. This dynamic woman, born in Lost Creek, a suburb of Terre Haute, Indiana, was destined for greatness, according to her prophetic father, a veteran of WWI. He saw her birth date on November 11, Veteran’s Day, and her keen intellect as a sign that she was exceptional. Her father’s premonition about her would in fact come to fruition: in her thirty-year career as a United Nations and American diplomat, appointed by three serving presidents, in service to the diverse peoples of Africa, and in her own local communities. Much has been written about her years as an American Ambassador and as Executive Director of the African Bank. However, relatively little is known about her years at Indiana State University (ISU) her undergraduate alma mater, located in Terre Haute, Indiana. Now an octogenarian, she maintains that her years at Indiana State University helped to shape her natural abilities and to provide the foundation she needed in the fields of Political Science and Art. This essay seeks to briefly examine the life of Ambassador Perry, but more importantly, to focus specifically on the story of her years at Indiana State University.

Publication Date

2017

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