DETROIT, MI, April 30, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Nellie Mae Varner, PhD, with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Varner celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Varner is an esteemed business professional who has worked in a variety of capacities during her 60-year career. Her humble beginnings as a school teacher in the Detroit, Michigan public school system between 1959 and 1964 was followed by her serving as a special assistant to the dean of the College of Literature, Science and Arts at the University Michigan. She then became a faculty associate at the Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies, an assistant professor of political science, the director of the affirmative actions' programs and the associate dean of the Rackham Graduate School. Additionally, before becoming a member ofthe university's Board of Regents for I 6 years, she was a research associate and research fellow at Harvard University. Outside of education, Dr. Varner gained extensive expertise in investment real estate as the president of the N.M. Varner Company and vice president of Strather & Varner, Inc., an executive in the entertainment industry, the founder of Phoenix Entertainment and the managing owner of several Taco Bell franchises.
She played a major role in the establishment of the gaming industry in Detroit as a founding partner of the Atwater Casino Group, LLC, and a member of the Board of Directors of Detroit Entertainment, LLC. Dr. Varner has served on numerous civic boards including the Board of Trustees of New Detroit, Inc., the Board of Directors of the Institute for American Business, the Board of Trustees of Detroit Public Television WTVS/Channel 56, the National Community Investment Board to which she was appointed by former president Jimmy Carter, the Board of Directors of the Detroit Association of University of Michigan Women, the Board of Directors of the Highland Park YMCA, the Board of Directors of the Detroit Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and as chair of the Real Estate Advisory Board of the state of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulation. She was a member of the National Science Foundation Advisory Committee for Minority Programs in Science and, in 1980, she was a Delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business. The National Association of Women Business Owners presented her with its Distinguished Community Leadership Award in 1984.
Dr. Varner earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Art in political science at Wayne State University in 1958 and 1959, respectively. She later obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in political science at the University of Michigan in 1968 before completing postdoctoral work as a Research Associate in the Russian Research Center and as a Research Fellow at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University in 1970 and 1971. Moreover, Dr. Varner was notably licensed as a real estate broker in Michigan between 1978 and 1992.
A focused and dedicated business leader, Dr. Varner has been associated as a member of multiple professional organizations. During her years as a active broker, she was a member of the National Association of Realtors, the Michigan Association of Realtors, and the Detroit Association of Realtors. She is a Life Member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Among Dr. Varner's many honors and citations are service as an Intern in the U.S. Congress with the late Honorable Charles C. Diggs, Jr., as a Post-Doctoral American participant in the Wilton Park Conferences in Steyning Sussex, England in 1969, and as a recipient of a Research Travel grant from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She was further honored by the American Council on Education in Change Magazine (October, 1978) as one of the "Top 100 Young Leaders in Higher Education In America." Likewise, Dr. Varner is also a celebrated Marquis Iistee who has been featured in the 21st edition of Who's Who in the Midwest and 16th and 17th editions of Who's Who of American Women.
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