Five African Americans Named to New Administrative Posts

Lowell Kent Davis is the new assistant vice chancellor for student success at Western Carolina University. He was the assistant dean of students and assistant to the vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Alabama. Dr. Davis previously served on the faculty at Hampton University in Virginia and Indiana University.

Dr. Davis holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Hampton University and earned a doctorate in education, leadership and policy studies from Indiana University.

Stan Wilcox was appointed director of intercollegiate athletics at Florida State University in Tallahassee. He was senior deputy athletics director at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Wilcox is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Brooklyn Law School.

Wayne Felder was promoted to controller at Bowie State University in Maryland. He was assistant controller and financial systems manager at the university.

Felder is a graduate of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He holds a master’s degree in administrative management from Bowie State University and is a certified public accountant.

Bryan Samuels was appointed executive director of the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago. The center, founded in 1985, is focused on improving child well-being through policy research. Samuels has been serving as commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A native of Chicago, Samuels is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he majored in economics. He holds a master’s degree from the School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

LaShondra Peebles, vice president for enrollment management at Chicago State University, was named a commissioner of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. She is the first African American women to serve as a commissioner in the agency’s 100-year history.

Peebles holds bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Illinois and is completing work there on a doctorate in higher education administration.