The late Shirley Walker Dixon (’84, MEd’89, EdD'18) was a consistent moral and courageous leader at Cabrini University and a trailblazer in advocating for and facilitating equitable practices for all students.

Dixon worked with the Philadelphia Housing Authority for nearly 20 years before transitioning to education, teaching fifth grade and then serving as principal at Girard College, a five-day boarding school for academically capable students, grades 1-12, from families with limited financial resources, each headed by a single parent or guardian.

In 1990, she was asked to join Cabrini’s Board of Trustees, becoming the first African American to do so. In 2007, she joined the Cabrini faculty full-time as an assistant professor in the Education Department. Dixon served faithfully at Cabrini University, until her death in November 2019.