{{Short description|American public speaker and author}} {{confused|Shirley Raines (non-profit founder)}} {{Infobox academic | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|04|15}} | birth_place = Jackson, Tennessee, U.S. | alma_mater = {{Plainlist| * University of Tennessee at Martin * University of Tennessee {{Small|(MSc, D.Ed.)}} }} }}
'''Shirley C. Raines''' is an American public speaker, author and leadership consultant who retired from academia after serving as president of the University of Memphis from 2001 to 2013. Before entering administration she was a professor of education, specializing in early childhood.
==Early life== Raines was born April 15, 1945, in Jackson, Tennessee, and grew up on a cotton farm near Bells. She completed her undergraduate education at UT Martin, studying child development, and then worked as a kindergarten teacher for several years.<ref name=cp>[http://www.oakridger.com/article/20150429/news/150429815 From cotton picker to college president, Shirley Raines to speak Thursday], ''Oak Ridger'', April 29, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2017.</ref> She later undertook further studies at UT Knoxville, graduating with an M.Sc. in child development and later a D.Ed. in elementary and early education.<ref name=reign>[https://www.memphis.edu/magazinearchive/v19i2/feat1.html A New Reign], ''The University of Memphis Magazine'', Spring 2001. Retrieved November 27, 2017.</ref>
==Academia== Before entering administration, Raines taught for periods at the University of Alabama; North Carolina Wesleyan College; Northeastern State University, Oklahoma; George Mason University, Virginia; and the University of South Florida. In 1995, she was appointed dean of education at the University of Kentucky; she was additionally made vice-president for academic affairs three years later. She served as president of the Association for Childhood Education International from 1999 to 2001.<ref name=reign/> In January 2001, the board of regents of the University of Memphis elected Raines as the successor to President V. Lane Rawlins – the first woman to hold the position.<ref name=appt>[http://www.memphis.edu/newsarchive/feb01/raines2.html Dr. Raines Named 11th President of the University of Memphis], University of Memphis, February 2001. Retrieved November 27, 2017.</ref> Her term began on July 1, 2001, and continued until her retirement on June 30, 2013.<ref name=ret>[http://wreg.com/2013/04/15/dr-shirley-raines-to-retire-from-u-of-m/ Dr. Shirley Raines to Retire from U of M], WREG, April 15, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2017.</ref> As president, Raines oversaw the acquisition of Lambuth University, the establishment of the University of Memphis Research Foundation and the Memphis Research Consortium, and the construction of a number of new buildings.<ref name=cp/> She was inducted into the Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame in 2013, and retired to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where she works as a motivational speaker and leadership consultant.<ref name=ret/>
==See also== * List of women presidents or chancellors of co-ed colleges and universities
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raines, Shirley}} Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:George Mason University faculty Category:North Carolina Wesleyan University faculty Category:Northeastern State University faculty Category:University of Alabama faculty Category:University of Kentucky faculty Category:University of South Florida faculty Category:University of Tennessee alumni Category:University of Tennessee at Martin alumni Category:Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Category:Women heads of universities and colleges Category:People from Jackson, Tennessee Category:People from Crockett County, Tennessee Category:20th-century American women academics Category:20th-century American academics