Vernell Bennett-Fairs Named the Thirteenth President of LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis

The board of trustees of historically Black LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee, has appointed Vernell A. Bennett-Fairs as the college’s 13th president. She will take office on January 1.

“I’ve been prepared to be a president for some time now,” Dr. Bennett-Fairs told The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “But I didn’t apply until the presidency that came along that I was interested in. The presidency of an institution where I feel I can be impactful and really gel with the faculty, staff, students, the community. LeMoyne-Owen College is the first presidency I applied for, because that was the right one.”

LeMoyne-Owen College enrolls just over 800 students, according to the latest data supplied by the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 97 percent of the student body.

Since 2016, Dr. Bennett-Fairs has been serving as vice president for student affairs at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. Earlier, she was vice president for student affairs at Kentucky State University.

Dr. Bennett-Fairs is a graduate of Fisk University in Nashville, where she majored in vocal performance. She earned a master’s degree in vocal performance from Eastern Michigan University and a doctorate in instruction and administration from the University of Kentucky.

Related Articles

2 COMMENTS

  1. Congratulations Dr. Bennett-Fairs and LeMoyne-Owen College, I sang in the Central State University Chorus as a principle voice before pursuing a career in higher education. The exposure of touring with the chorus, at the behest of the conductor, William Henry Caldwell, speaking to audiences about Central at intermission, really jump started it for me recruiting. My first role almost 20 years ago was in Enrollment. I look forward to following LeMoyne-Owen’s progress, Memphis is my other home. Again, congratulations.

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers

Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.

The University of Texas School of Architecture Names Its Library After Its First Black Graduate

John Chase graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin in 1952, making him the school's first-ever Black graduate. Over seven decades later, the university has established the John S. Chase Architecture and Planning Library in his honor.

Pew Research Center Reports on the Growing Black Population in the United States

Over the course of the twenty-first century, the Black population in the United States has grown by 33 percent to a total of 48.3 million. In 2023, 27 percent of Black American adults have completed at least a bachelor's degree.

Featured Jobs