Dr. Dale G. Caldwell, founder of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame and former President and CEO of the USTA Eastern Section, broke numerous barriers and made a lasting impact on the sport of tennis. 

His influence extends well beyond tennis. Born in Boston in 1960, Caldwell played tennis on his high school team at the Hopkins School. He continued competing after high school and became a nationally ranked USTA and ATA player. Caldwell earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctorate in Education from Seton Hall University. 

In 2006, Caldwell made history by becoming the first Black person to be elected President and CEO of the USTA Eastern Section. The following year, he co-curated the Breaking the Barriers: The American Tennis Association and Black Tennis Pioneers exhibit with Art Carrington through the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF). The exhibit, which highlights Black tennis history in the United States, opened at the US Open before touring the country. The ITHF developed the exhibit into an online exhibition in 2021. 

In 2007, Caldwell founded the Black Tennis Hall of Fame to preserve the history of African American tennis and honor those who had been overlooked in the broader narrative of the sport. Committed to promoting Black excellence in various fields, he later founded the Black Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame, Black Executives Hall of Fame, Black Inventors Hall of Fame, Black Authors Hall of Fame, and Black Educators Hall of Fame. 

Caldwell has authored several books, including Tennis in New York and Breaking the Barriers. He served on the USTA Board of Directors and was inducted into the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2021. While he remains active in tennis through his foundation, the Dale Caldwell Foundation, which works to reduce poverty and promote Black excellence, Caldwell has also had a distinguished career in academia. He is currently the President of Centenary University (founded in 1867), selected by the Board of Trustees as the university's 15th president and the first African American to hold that esteemed role.