Three African American Men Who Have Been Selected to Serve as Deans
Joel A. Johnson was appointed dean of admission at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Darren D. Kelly will be the next dean of the Office of African American Affairs at the University of Virginia and Jimmie Smith has been named dean of aviation at Savannah Technical College in Georgia.
Former Professor and University Administrator to Lead the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
DeAngela Burns-Wallace is the CEO and president of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. She held administrative positions at Stanford University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Kansas.
Phyllis Curtis-Tweed Appointed Provost at Queensborough Community College in New York
“I am thrilled to join the Queensborough Community College as provost and vice president of academic affairs, and to return to CUNY, where our very prescient mission remains to provide high-quality public education for all students," said Dr. Curtis-Tweed.
Three Black Scholars Appointed to Dean Positions
Mark Harden is the new dean of the Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Marie-Carmel Chery is the new dean of the chapel and spiritual engagement at Voorhees University in Denmark, South Carolina, and Tony Jean Dickerson was appointed dean of the School of Education at Martin University in Indianapolis.
Marla Frederick Will Be the Next Dean of Harvard Divinity School
Dr. Frederick is currently the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Religion and Culture at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Prior to her appointment at Emory, she served on the Harvard faculty from 2003 to 2019
Harry Elam to Step Down as Occidental College President at the End of the...
Harry J. Elam Jr. became the sixteenth president of Occidental College in Los Angeles on July 1, 2020. Dr. Elam recently announced in a message to new students that he would be stepping down from his post at the end of the academic year due to a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
The First Black Dean of the Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia
Said Ibrahim has been serving as senior vice president of the medicine service line at Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider. He also serves as chair of the department of medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, and the Donald & Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University. He will become dean on December 1.
Glenda Glover Will Step Down as President of Tennessee State University in 2024
"It was a decision that did not come too easily," President Glover said, "and it was not made lightly. My voice is needed now on a more national platform."
Three African American Women Who Have Been Appointed Provosts
Shantay R. Grays was named provost at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland. Andrea Stewart has been named provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Toneyce Randolph is the new provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Morris Brown College in Atlanta.
Two Black Scholars Who Have Been Named to Dean Positions
Brett C. Woods was appointed vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Mary Simmons is the new dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences at Florida A&M University.
Roberts Wesleyan University Names Rupert Hayles Jr. as Its Twelfth President
Rupert A. Hayles Jr. is the new president of Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, New York. In this role, he will also serve as the fourth president of the Northeastern Seminary. Dr. Hayles has been serving for the past two years as president of Pillar College in Newark, New Jersey.
Two African Americans Appointed to University Dean Positions
Jamelle Sharpe is the new dean of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law and Natasha Hutson has been appointed as dean of University College at Alcorn State University in Mississippi.
Jamal A. Cooks Is the New President of Chabot College in California
Dr. Cooks has served as vice president of academic services at Chabot College since 2022, although he assumed the role on an interim basis in 2021. Prior to community college administration, Dr. Cooks served as a full professor at San Francisco State University, where he was also the associate director for the educational leadership doctoral program.
The Next Leader of the School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago
Nadya Mason has been serving as the Rosalyn S. Yalow Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has also served as the director of the University of Illinois' Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza Will Be the Thirteenth President of West Valley College in California
Dr. Taylor-Mendoza has over 20 years of experience in the California Community College system, serving in a variety of roles. Since 2021, Dr. Taylor-Mendoza has served as the president of the College of San Mateo in California. She will become president of West Valley College on August 24.
Lorrie Frasure to Lead the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at...
Dr. Frasure joined the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2007. She was the first woman of color and the first Black woman to earn tenure and promotion to full professor in the political science department at the university. As the new director of the center, she will hold the inaugural Ralph J. Bunche Endowed Chair.
A Trio of Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Lisa Gardner has been named interim dean for the School of Nursing at Florida A&M University. Glenn Chambers has been appointed the interim dean of the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University and Eboni Zamani-Gallaher will serve as the Renée and Richard Goldman Interim Dean of the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh.
Sonja Harris-Haywood Appointed Dean of the School of Medicine at Meharry Medical College
Dr. Harris-Haywood comes to Meharry from Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine, where she served as associate dean of curriculum integration and one of the key leaders that drove the transformation, implementation, and assessment of a new medical school curriculum that integrated medical and clinical sciences.
Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke Is the New Provost at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey
For the past two years, Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke has been serving as senior vice provost for academic and faculty affairs. Dr. Tomlinson-Clarke joined the faculty at the university in 1989. Her research focuses on the development of culturally responsive interventions to enhance learning.
Claire Oberon Garcia Is the New State Historian in Colorado
Dr. Garcis, who has been a professor at Colorado College for more than three decades, will also lead the State Historian’s Council. Dr. Garcia's research focuses on the experiences of women of the Black Atlantic in the beginning of the twentieth century.
Three Black Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Deleise Wilson is the inaugural AdventHealth Dean of Nursing at Polk State College in Winter Haven, Florida. Laurie Garrett-Cobbina is the new dean of the San Francisco Theological Seminary of the University of Redlands in California and Melinda Pettigrew will become dean of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in December.
University of North Carolina Bans Affirmative Action in Hiring and Contracting Decisions
The board of trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill approved a resolution on July 27 prohibiting the university from considering race, sex, or ethnicity in admissions decisions. But it went further and banned affirmative action in hiring and contracting decisions.
Derrick Warren to Lead the College of Business at Grambling State University in Louisiana
Dr. Warren previously served as associate dean and director of graduate programs for the College of Business at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Earlier, he spent over 32 years working for IBM.
The New Dean of the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville,...
André Green is the new dean of the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He was a professor of leadership and teacher education and associate vice president for academic affairs at the University of South Alabama.
A Trio of African Americans Who Have Been Appointed Deans at Universities
Reginald T. Braggs is the new assistant vice president and dean of students at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. Nikesha Nesbitt was appointed interim dean of University College at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and Dale Wesson was named interim dean for the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences at Florida A&M University.
Gwendoyn Sutton Is the First Woman to Lead the Tennessee College of Applied Technology...
Dr. Sutton began her higher education career in 2001 as a financial aid officer. After two years at private colleges in Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, she joined TCAT Memphis as financial aid coordinator in 2003 and served in that role for 10 years. She has served as its vice president since 2017.
Gwendolyn Sutton Is the First Woman to Lead the Tennessee College of Applied Technology...
Dr. Sutton began her higher education career in 2001 as a financial aid officer. After two years at private colleges in Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, she joined TCAT Memphis as financial aid coordinator in 2003 and served in that role for 10 years. She has served as its vice president since 2017.
Two African American Women Named to Provost Positions
Cynthia Hester was named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Jarvis Christian University in Hawkins, Texas, and Rhonda Porter was promoted to interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Albany State University in Georgia.
Francine Conway Named Chancellor of Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Francine Conway is the new chancellor of the flagship campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She has led Rutgers–New Brunswick under the hybrid title of “chancellor-provost” for the past two years. The separation of responsibilities between chancellor and provost mirrors the leadership structures of Rutgers’ other campuses.
Gwendoyn Sutton Is the First Woman to Lead the Tennessee College of Applied Technology...
Dr. Sutton began her higher education career in 2001 as a financial aid officer. After two years at private colleges in Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, she joined TCAT Memphis as financial aid coordinator in 2003 and served in that role for 10 years. She has served as its vice president since 2017.
A Hire Gone Wrong at Texas A&M University
In June, Texas A&M University announced that Kathleen McElroy, who had a 20-year career at The New York Times, would join the university's communication and journalism department as a tenured professor. After objections from conservative members of the campus community, Dr. McElroy decided to stay in her tenured post at the University of Texas at Austin.
Michael McFrazier to Serve as Provost at Prairie View A&M University
Professor McFrazier holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and two master’s degrees from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He earned a doctorate in educational administration at the University of Arkansas. For the past three months, he has been interim president of the university.
Alcorn State University in Mississippi Has Its Third Leader in Four Months
Tracy M. Cook is the new interim president of Alcorn State University in Mississippi. He took office on July 8, replacing Ontario S. Wooden who led the university as interim president since April 2023. Dr. Wooden replaced Felecia Nave in April. No reason was given for Dr. Nave's departure.
Cynthia Bond Hopson Chosen to Lead Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas
Dr. Hopson has been serving as chief equity officer and assistant general secretary of the Black College Fund at the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville. Earlier, she served on the faculty of Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, Murray State University in Kentucky, and the University of Memphis.
Edward Waters University Appoints Genyne Henry Boston as Provost
Prior to joining Edward Waters University, Dr. Boston served as associate provost for academic and faculty affairs at Florida A&M University and chief of staff to the provost at the university. Earlier, she served as the chair for the department of English at Florida A&M University.
Three African Americans Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Jenelle Pitt-Parker has been appointed dean of the College of Education and Integrative Studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Adrian L. Mayse is the new dean of the Division of Business Administration at Talladega College in Alabama and Lisa A. Crooms-Robinson was appointed interim dean of the Howard University School of Law.
