Delta Sigma Theta’s Gloria Randle Scott Is the First Black President of the Girl Scouts and a Former President of Bennett College

Did you know that the first Black woman to lead the Girl Scouts of the USA is a soror of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.? Her name is Dr. Gloria Randle Scott, and her career reshaped the landscape of American girlhood and Black higher education.

Born Gloria Dean on April 14, 1938, in Houston, Texas, Scott grew up attending Blackshear Elementary and Jack Yates Secondary School, graduating in 1955. A scholarship carried her to Indiana University Bloomington, where in 1959 she became the first African American to earn a degree in zoology. She went on to complete a master’s degree the following year and a Ph.D. in higher education in 1965 from the same institution.

In 1975, Scott made history when she was elected national president of the Girl Scouts of the USA, becoming the first African American to hold the role. She served in that position until 1978 and remained connected to the organization’s board for years afterward. Her leadership opened doors for generations of Black girls who could finally see themselves at the top of an institution that had long shaped American youth.

Scott has spent her life in service to Black education. She held leadership posts at Knoxville College, North Carolina A&T State University, Texas Southern University, and Clark College before being named president of Bennett College, the historically Black women’s college in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1987. She led Bennett until 2001, dedicating her tenure to the education and empowerment of Black women.

Scott’s commitment to Delta Sigma Theta reaches far beyond membership. She has served the sorority at the national level, holding the offices of national secretary and national vice president. Founded in 1913 at Howard University, Delta Sigma Theta was built on a commitment to public service and the uplift of the Black community, and Scott’s decades of work in education and youth development embody that founding mission.

Now in her eighties and living in Corpus Christi, Texas, Scott remains a respected voice in the Bennett community and beyond. Her story is one of firsts, but more than that, it is a story of clearing pathways for others. From the laboratories of Indiana University to the presidency of Bennett College, Gloria Randle Scott has built a legacy that continues to inspire Black women in education and leadership today.