Elfred Anthony Pinkard, a longtime educator with decades of leadership experience at historically Black colleges and universities, has been named Brown University’s first-ever HBCU presidential fellow, effective July 1. In this role, he will lead an emerging effort to strengthen and expand Brown’s relationships with HBCUs. Dr. Pinkard is retiring as president of Wilberforce University in Ohio, a post he has held since March 2018. Earlier he was the provost at the university.
Dr. Pinkard is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta. He holds a master’s degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and a doctorate from Harvard University.
Whitney McDowell-Robinson was named vice president for student development and engagement at Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia. She has been serving as vice president for enrollment management and student services at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, where she has been on the staff since 2014.
Dr. McDowell-Robinson is a graduate of Tougaloo College, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and a Ph.D. in urban higher education from Jackson State University in Mississippi.
Terryl Brown, an attorney with extensive legal, leadership, and management experience in city and state government, has been named vice president and general counsel for Pace University in New York. She was deputy commissioner of legal affairs and administration for the New York City Fire Department.
A native New Yorker, Brown graduated from Pace University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She earned a master’s degree from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and a juris doctorate and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.
Richie C. Hunter will be the next vice president for communications at the University of Michigan, effective May 15. She has been serving as vice president for communications at the University of Oregon. Before joining the University of Oregon in 2021, Hunter served as vice president for strategic communications and external relations at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, from 2016 to 2021.
Hunter earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.
