After seven months of service as interim president, Monique Guillory has been officially named the ninth president of Dillard University, a historically Black university in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Dillard University enrolls about 1,100 undergraduate students, 89 percent of whom are Black. While it is primarily an undergraduate institution, the university recently launched its first master’s degree program in nursing in 2023.
Dr. Guillory joined the Dillard University administration in April 2024 as provost and chief academic and enrollment officer. Following the sudden resignation of former president Rochelle Ford one month later, Dr. Guillory quickly transitioned to the role of interim president.
With over three decades of higher education experience, Dr. Guillory has served as a senior administrator with several universities across the eastern United States, including several other HBCUs. Before Dillard, she was the senior vice president and chief of staff at the University of the District of Columbia. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles with Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, Saint Elizabeth University in New Jersey, the Southern University system, Xavier University of Louisiana, and the University of the Virgin Islands.
Dr. Guillory holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and rhetorical communication from Tulane University in New Orleans and a Ph.D. in comparative literature from New York University.
