Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success taps next leader

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success, which has empowered Black and biracial students in Cedar Rapids for more than 35 years, has selected John Hollemon III as its next leader.

In a newsletter Wednesday, the academy’s board announced Hollemon will start as executive director of the organization March 1.

“Dr. John Hollemon III joins The Academy SPS at a pivotal and meaningful moment in our journey. Our mission — to provide culturally responsive academic, social, and personal support for the students and families we serve — has never been more vital. Dr. Hollemon brings a steadfast commitment to student success, a collaborative and people-centered leadership style, and a strong belief in the power of community,” the newsletter stated.

Hollemon has worked in higher education for more than a decade and has experience as dean of inclusive excellence, chief diversity officer, deputy Title IX coordinator and adjunct professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville, Va., according to his LinkedIn profile.

The Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success is a Cedar Rapids-based nonprofit that offers Black and biracial students summer experiences, academic year initiatives and college readiness support while nurturing pride in their identities and communities.

Hollemon will replace Ruth White, who founded the academy in 1989 when she was working as a teacher and academic adviser to minority students at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids.

White announced her decision to retire from the academy last spring.

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“This transition is not about stepping away — it’s about stepping forward,” White said in a news release last year. “We are preparing to pass the torch in a way that honors the legacy we’ve built while welcoming new energy and leadership that will carry us into the future. The needs of our students and community have not diminished — they’ve deepened. We need leadership that understands that and is ready to meet the moment.”

In its statement Wednesday, the academy’s board noted that White’s influence “is woven into the very DNA” of the organization.

“Countless students, families, staff, and partners have been shaped by her leadership, advocacy, and belief in what is possible when young people are fully supported. Her legacy will continue to live on through the work we do and the lives we impact every day,” the board stated.

Last summer, the academy moved into its first physical home at 119 14th St. SE in Cedar Rapids. The summer program will remain where it is at Mount Mercy University, so high school students can experience what it’s like to be on a college campus.

The organization has faced some financial headwinds after an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January 2025 that aimed to end “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.” The order cites Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin.

Last September, the Cedar Rapids Community School District severed its 30-year partnership with the academy after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights threatened to withhold millions in funding from the district.

The district’s financial contribution to the academy last year was expected to be $66,525. Ending the partnership is a loss of about 50 percent of the academy’s annual operating budget, White said last year.

In a guest column in The Gazette last month, White wrote, “We do face significant challenges: Our funding was rescinded and we are banned from recruiting students in the schools. Those two things alone could cause an organization, after 36 years of impactful service, to concede. But to be a nonprofit means to be strapped for funds, and with regard to recruiting students, my mother used to say, ‘There’s more than one way to skin a cat.’”

Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com