Robin Helene Holmes-Sullivan (born September 24, 1964) is an American academic and psychologist serving as the president of

Lewis & Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1867 and is situated on the historic M. Lloyd Frank Estate in South Portland's Collins View neighborhood. It is composed of three distinct but adjac ...

. She is the first woman, first

person of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

, and first openly

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

person to become the president of the college. Holmes-Sullivan previously served as the vice president for student affairs of the 10-campus

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

system.

Early life and education

Robin Helene Holmes was born on September 24, 1964 in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. She is the fourth of five children. Her family frequently moved because her father was in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. After her father was stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro when she was 3-years-old, her family stayed in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Holmes-Sullivan graduated from

El Toro High School El Toro High School is a public high school in Lake Forest, California, United States. It is one of five high schools in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) and serves Lake Forest as well as its district of Portola Hills and a ...

in 1982. Holmes-Sullivan attended California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), where she studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. She was the starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

for CSUF's

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

women's basketball team. Her goal was to play for the USA women's basketball team in the

1988 Olympics 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 () ...

. Holmes-Sullivan continues to hold the Big West championship record for best

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

percentage (tied with Natasha Parks of the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

and Alli Nieman of the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

). After receiving her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in psychology in 1986, Holmes-Sullivan continued to get a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in psychology from CSUF. She later attended the California School of professional Psychology where she received a

in 1990 and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in 1992, both in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

Career

Holmes-Sullivan began her career at the counseling center at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

, where she later became the dean of students and the vice president of student life. After 25 years at the University of Oregon, Holmes-Sullivan became the vice president for student affairs of the

, a 10-campus university system with more than 200,000 students. Holmes-Sullivan later became the vice president for student life and dean of students of

. She was praised for her management of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and its effect on the student body. In January 2022, Lewis & Clark College announced that Holmes-Sullivan would become the president of the college the following July. She became the first woman, first

, and the first openly

person to hold the position. In September 2022,

State Treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

Tobias Reed appointed Holmes-Sullivan to the five-member Oregon 529 Savings Board. The board oversees the administration of the Oregon College Savings Plan and advises the state administration on the Oregon ABLE Savings Plan. In March 2024, the

Portland Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

honored Holmes-Sullivan as a "Woman of Influence." Holmes-Sullivan maintains a career as a private

clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

. She specializes in treating

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

, depression, and

clients. Holmes-Sullivan is also a consultant for multicultural organizational development and

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

issues.

Personal life

Holmes-Sullivan identifies as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. She met her wife, Kathy Sullivan, in 1993 while working in the counseling center at the

. Kathy is a

clinical social worker Clinical social work is a specialty within the broader profession of social work. The American Board of Clinical Social Work (ABCSW) defines clinical social work as "a healthcare profession based on theories and methods of prevention and treatment ...

. They raised their two sons in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes-Sullivan, Robin 1964 births Living people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American women academics 21st-century American academics African-American academic administrators African-American LGBTQ people African-American women academic administrators American women academic administrators American academic administrators American LGBTQ women Basketball players from South Carolina California State University, Fullerton alumni Lewis & Clark College people LGBTQ people from South Carolina LGBTQ people from Oregon Women academic administrators