A Quartet of Black Women Taking on New Administrative Duties at Universities

Marcia Walker-McWilliams was named executive director of the Tulane History Project at Tulane University in New Orleans. In this role, she will develop a detailed history of Tulane with respect to its racial history and founding, including the impacts of slavery and segregation.  The university’s roots date back to 1834 with the founding of the Medical College of Louisiana. Dr. Walker-McWilliams was most recently executive director of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium at the University of Chicago. She is the co-editor of the forthcoming The New Civil Rights Movement Reader: Resistance, Resilience and Justice (University of Massachusetts Press, 2023).

Dr. Walker-McWilliams holds a bachelor’s degree in social policy and African American studies from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She earned a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Chicago.

Felicia L. McMillan has been appointed registrar at South Carolina State University. She has served as acting registrar since 2019. McMillan began her career at the university in 2006 as the records analyst in the Registrar’s Office. She was promoted to assistant registrar in 2008.

McMillan received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from what is now Voorhees University in Denmark, South Carolina. She holds a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from South Carolina State University, and a master’s degree in the technology of education from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Endia DeCordova was selected as the next vice president for institutional advancement at Morgan State University in Baltimore, effective July 12. She will also serve as the executive director for the Morgan State University Foundation. DeCordova currently serves as vice chancellor for advancement at Rutgers University, Camden. Earlier, she was assistant vice president for development and strategic initiatives for the University of Connecticut Foundation.

DeCordova received a bachelor’s degree in communications/public relations from Morgan State University. She holds an MBA in marketing management from the University of Hartford in Connecticut.

Melissa Hodge-Penn has been named associate vice chancellor for research and economic development at North Carolina A&T State University. She was assistant vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs at the University of Mississippi.

A native of Atlanta, Dr. Hodge-Penn received a bachelor’s degree from Grambling State University in Louisiana. She holds a master’s degree from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and a doctorate from the University of Mississippi.

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