Eight African Americans Selected for Administrative Positions in Higher Education

Jerome Coley has been promoted to sports information director at Coahoma Community College in Mississippi. Currently, he serves as the college’s coordinator of tutorial services and intramural sports. Earlier in his career, he taught physical education, science, and math at Clarksdale Municipal and Coahoma County School Districts.

Coley holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a master’s degree in sports administration from Delta State University in Mississippi.

Kenitra Horsley has been promoted to chief of staff and chief information officer at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. She has spent the past five years with Queens University, most recently serving as deputy chief information officer. Her new appointment makes her the first woman to serve as the university’s CIO.

Horlsey is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where she majored in computer science. She received an MBA from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

PJ Thompson has been named executive director of the Indiana State University Alumni Association. He brings over 15 years of experience in higher education advancement to his new role. Most recently, he was the senior development officer at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois.

Dr. Thompson holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Eastern Illinois University, a master’s degree in higher education administration from McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Maryville University of Saint Louis in Missouri.

Diana Coleman has been appointed assistant chief of police for Grambling State University in Louisiana. She recently retired from a long tenured law enforcement career with the Shreveport Police Department after nearly three decades of service.

Coleman received her master’s degree in business organizational management from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.

Aliyah McDaniel has been named the assistant sports information director at Alabama A&M University. She comes to her new role from the University of Kentucky, where she served as an athletics communications intern.

McDaniel holds three degrees from the University of Kentucky: a bachelor’s degree in sports communication, a second bachelor’s degree in writing, rhetoric, and digital studies, and a master’s degree in kinesiology and health promotion with a specialization in sport leadership.

Natasha James-Waldon has been named executive director of workforce development and lifelong learning at Middlesex College in Edison, New Jersey. She began her career with the college in 2018 as an adjunct professor. For the past two years, she has served as director of lifelong learning programs.

Dr. James-Waldon is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, where she majored in journalism. She received her juris doctorate and master’s degree in media administration from Syracuse University in New York. She holds a doctorate in organizational leadership, learning, and innovation from Wilmington University in Delaware.

Alisha Knight has been named the inaugural executive director of faculty diversity at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She has two decades of higher education experience, most recently serving as a professor of English and the associate provost for diversity and inclusion at Washington College.

Dr. Knight holds three degrees in English: a bachelor’s degree from historically Black Spelman College in Atlanta, a master’s degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and a Ph.D from Drew University in New Jersey.

Bruce McGowan has been appointed interim vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a historically Black institution. Most recently, he served as the associate vice president at Rogers State University in Oklahoma. Earlier in his career, he was associate vice president for academic affairs at Langston University, an HBCU in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Dr. McGowan is a three-time graduate of Mississippi State University, where he earned his bachelor of business administration degree in management, master’s degree in counselor education, and Ph.D. in education.

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