Eight African American Who Are Taking on New Administrative Duties in Higher Education

Petrina Jackson has been named director of the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University in New York. She has served as head of Special Collections and University Archives at Iowa State University since 2016.

Jackson is a graduate of the University of Toledo in Ohio where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree in English from Iowa State University and a master of library and information science degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Denise Wallace has been named vice president and general counsel at Florida A&M University. She currently serves in the same capacity at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dr. Wallace holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, a master’s degree in intercultural leadership and management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, a juris doctorate from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a master of laws degree and a doctorate of laws degree in intercultural human rights/international law from St. Thomas University.

Charles S. Johnson has been named vice president for external affairs and general counsel at Tuskegee University in Alabama. He has been a partner with the law firm Holland & Knight for the past 10 years.

Johnson holds a juris doctorate from Boston College Law School.

Daarel Burnette has been named chief financial officer at Jackson State University in Mississippi. He was vice president for administration and chief financial officer at Central State University in Ohio.

Dr. Burnette is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta where he majored in business administration and finance. He holds an MBA from Georgia College and State University, and a Ph.D. in urban higher education leadership from Jackson State University.

Ed Fisher has been named assistant vice president of community and government relations at American University in Washington, D.C. He was executive director of the St. Elizabeth’s East Development.

Fisher is a graduate of Hampton University in Virginia where he majored in business management. He holds a  law degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Arlene Wesley Cash has been named the inaugural vice president for enrollment management at Frostburg State University in Maryland. She was vice president for enrollment management at Guilford College in North Carolina.

Cash holds a bachelor’s degree from Keruka College in New York and a master’s degree from Kent State University in Ohio. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Georgia.

Ericka Smith has been named vice president and chief human resources officer at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. She was vice chancellor for human resources at North Carolina A&T State University.

Dr. Smith holds a master of education degree in personnel administration from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. in conflict analysis and resolution from Nova Southeastern University.

Brandon E. Martin has been named executive in residence at the School of Education at the University of Missouri Kansas City. He has been the university’s director of athletics since December 2018.

Dr. Martin holds a bachelor’s degree, a master of education degree, and a Ph.D. in higher education administration all from the University of Southern California.

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