Dr. Iva E. Carruthers is General Secretary of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. She has had an active academic life and ministry in the areas of justice and social policy. She is a Trustee for the Chicago Theological Seminary; is Founder and Director of Lois House -- an urban retreat center; served as Executive Director of the Black Theology Project; and is an active member of Trinity United Church of Christ. Dr. Carruthers also is Professor Emeritus and former Chairperson of the Sociology Department at Northeastern Illinois University and former president of a computer technology firm. In addition, she has consulted and lectured extensively in the U.S. and throughout Africa and the Diaspora.
Author of many publications in several fields, her publication, The Church and Reparations: An African American Perspective, was distributed by her denomination in several languages at the 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism. She received the Ph.D. in Sociology from Northwestern University and a Master in Theological Studies degree from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.
Dr. Carruthers was awarded the 1999 Life Achievement Award by Northeastern Illinois University, as well as a leadership award for her work in fostering interfaith dialogue in and outside the academic community. She also was recipient of the "Year 2000 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year" award, given by the National Foundation of Women Legislators and the Small Business Administration. Other awards and postdoctoral fellowships received by Dr. Carruthers include The Russell Sage foundation, University of Chicago, Adlai Stevenson Institute for International Affairs and The National Endowment for the Humanities..
Illinois Transatlantic Slave Trade Commission