A Quartet of Black Administrators in New Higher Education Roles

Antoinette Candia-Bailey is the new vice president of student affairs at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. In her previous role, she was vice president of student affairs, chief diversity officer, and Title IX coordinator at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

A native of Chicago, Dr. Candia-Bailey earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Lincoln University of Missouri. She holds a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling-disability studies from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in leadership studies from North Carolina A&T State University.

Javier McCoy was named interim director of Center for Black Culture and Research at West Virginia University. He has been serving as the assistant director of inclusive leadership and intercultural engagement in the Division of Student Life. Before joining WVU, he was the inaugural coordinator of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia.

McCoy earned a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia State University and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Salem University in West Virginia.

Adell Brown was appointed interim chief financial officer at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. Prior to joining Alcorn State, Brown served in interim roles as a vice president for administration and finance at Housatonic and Gateway Community Colleges in Connecticut and Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Earlier, he retired from the Southern University and A&M System in Louisiana, after serving for more than 40 years, holding various senior leadership positions such as vice chancellor for research, vice chancellor for finance and administration, and interim chancellor/dean of the Southern University Agriculture Center.

A native of Gilbert, Louisiana, Dr. Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Northeast Louisiana State University. He earned an MBA from the University of Southwest Louisiana and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Louisiana State University.

Renae Myles Payne is the new director of athletics at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. She had been serving as the senior associate athletic director for administration and chief diversity officer at the University of Miami in Florida. Earlier, she was the senior associate athletic director for internal operations, chief operating officer, and senior women’s administrator at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Dr. Payne holds a master’s degree in sports administration from Northwestern State University in Louisiana and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

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