Marilyn Holmes, retired educator and wife of the late Hamilton Holmes Sr., will present the 2022 Holmes-Hunter Lecture on Feb. 1. The lecture will be livestreamed and available for viewing at president.uga.edu/holmes-hunter.
Named in honor of Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes Sr., the first African American students to integrate the University of Georgia, the lecture is sponsored by the Office of the President and focuses on race relations, civil rights and education. It has been held annually since 1985.
Holmes retired from teaching in 2003 after a 16-year career. Since then, she has volunteered as a reading tutor in Atlanta Public Schools and Quality Living Services Senior Center. She is a former member of the board of the Atlanta History Center and past chair of the Atlanta Speech School board of advisors. She is also an active member of her local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and is an alumna member of The Links, Inc.
Holmes is a longtime friend and supporter of the university who has helped open doors for students and has made the UGA campus more inclusive through her advocacy and generosity.
At the University of Georgia, she has contributed to the 1961 Club and the Hamilton E. Holmes Professorship and has supported the School of Social Work and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
A native of Detroit, Holmes now lives in Atlanta.