Corey Wiggins has been named the fifteenth president of Tougaloo College in Mississippi. He will begin his presidency at the HBCU on July 1.
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education, Tougaloo College enrolls nearly 1,300 undergraduate students and a small graduate population of less than 20 students.
A Mississippi native, Dr. Wiggins has extensive experience in public policy and education. Currently, he serves as federal co-chair of the Delta Regional Authority, an independent federal agency that supports economic development across 255 counties and parishes in eight states throughout the Mississippi Delta and Alabama Black Belt. In this role, he oversees key initiatives to advance infrastructure, workforce development, and small businesses across the region.
Before his federal appointment, Dr. Wiggins was executive director of the Mississippi state conference for the NAACP. Earlier, he was senior vice president of HOPE, where he focused on strategies to improve economic mobility, financial inclusion, and community development across the Deep South.
As an educator, Dr. Wiggins has held faculty appointments with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson State University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has taught courses on health policy, strategic management, and the social determinants of health.
“It is an honor to be selected as the next president of Tougaloo College, an institution with a profound legacy of academic excellence and social transformation,” said Dr. Wiggins. “I look forward to working collaboratively with the board of trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the broader Tougaloo community to advance the college’s mission and strengthen its future.”
Dr. Wiggins earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from historically Black Alcorn State University in Mississippi. He holds a master’s degree in public health and a Ph.D. in health promotion from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
