Alabama State University, the historically Black educational institution in Montgomery, has announced the names of four finalists for president. The search committee hopes to interview all candidates and forward the name of its preferred candidate to the board of trustees by the end of the year.
Three of the four finalists are African Americans.
Samuel T. Nichols Jr. is a retired brigadier general of the U.S. Army who now is the director of the Enterprise Records Service for the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C.
Nichols holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University.
Gwendolyn E. Boyd is the executive assistant to the chief of staff of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. She is the former president of the 200,000-member Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Dr. Boyd is a graduate of Alabama State University. She holds a master’s degree from Yale University and a second master’s degree and a doctorate from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Quinton T. Ross Jr. is serving his third term in the Alabama State Senate, where he is vice chair of the Education Committee. Dr. Ross is also director of adult education at Trenholm State Technical College in Montgomery, an institution where Blacks make up 61 percent of the student body.
Senator Ross holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, all from Alabama State University.
Update: The fourth finalist, Dr. Jorge Haddock, has withdrawn his name from consideration.
Update: On December 20, Dr. Boyd was selected as the university’s next president.
