The University of Portland Names Robert Kelly as Its Twenty-First President
Robert Kelly has been appointed the twenty-first president of the University of Portland in Oregon. When he takes office in August, Dr. Kelly will be the first layperson and the first African American to hold the position in the 121-year history of the educational institution.
Darrell Wheeler Selected to Be the Next President of SUNY-New Paltz
Since 2018, Dr. Wheeler has been serving as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. Previously, he was s professor and dean of the School of Social Welfare and vice provost for public engagement at the University at Albany of the State University of New York.
Three Universities Announce the Appointments of Black Scholars to Dean Positions
Stephanie Shonekan was named dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland. Bimbola Akintade was named dean of the College of Nursing at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, and Troy McKenzie was appointed dean of the New York University School of Law.
The Inaugural Leader of the New Community College System in Connecticut
The new system is merging 12 community colleges throughout the state. Together they will enroll more than 32,000 students. John Maduko, who has been serving as vice president of academic and student affairs for Minnesota State Community and Technical College, will lead the new Connecticut State Community College.
Alexander Conyers Selected to Be the Next President of South Carolina State University
After a long career in the U.S. Army, in March 2021, Conyers was appointed vice president for strategic alliances and initiatives at the university. The board named Conyers acting president on July 13, 2021, and changed the designation to interim president on August 25, 2021.
David Hood Appointed Provost at Minnesota State University Mankato
Dr. Hood is currently the associate provost for undergraduate education and the founding dean of University College at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Earlier, he was dean of University College at North Carolina Central University.
Muskegon Community College in Michigan Names John Selmon as Its Next President
A widely respected administrator at the college since coming to campus in May 2011, Dr. Selmon currently serves as the provost/executive vice president providing leadership and oversight for academic affairs, athletics, facilities, and student services.
Two African Americans Selected to Serve as University Deans
Stephanie J. Rowley has been appointed the dean of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia and J. Lin Dawson was named dean of exercise science and collegiate athletics at Saint Augustine's University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Adrien Bennings Appointed the Eighth President of Portland Community College in Oregon
Adrien Bennings has been serving as president at Kellogg Community College, one of 28 community colleges in the state of Michigan. Earlier, she was the vice president of administration and finance and chief financial officer at Clovis Community College in New Mexico.
Three African American Men Who Have Been Appointed to University Dean Positions
The Black men appointed to dean posts are Tyrone Tanner at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, Jerlando F. L. Jackson at the College of Education of Michigan State University, and John D. Jones at Alabama A&M University.
Paul Watson II Is the New Leader of Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek,...
Dr. Watson has been vice president for instruction at the community college since 2019. From 2011 to 2019, Dr. Watson was an administrator at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, including serving as assistant dean and dean of academic success.
Harvard University Issues Extensive Report on Its Ties to Slavery
Harvard presidents and other leaders, as well as its faculty and staff, enslaved more than 70 individuals, some of whom labored on campus. Harvard is creating a $100 million endowment to help remedy past wrongs and the lingering effects of slavery on people of color.
Helene D. Gayle Appointed the Eleventh President of Spelman College in Atlanta
Dr. Gayle is currently president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the nation's oldest and largest community foundations. Earlier, she was CEO of the international humanitarian organization CARE and spent 20 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ericke Cage Named the 13th President of Historically Black West Virginia State University
President Cage joined the university in July 2021 as vice president and chief of staff and served as the university’s chief operating officer managing the day-to-day operations of the university from July 30 to his appointment as interim president in November 2021.
The First Black Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association
Dr. Bibbins-Domingo is a professor and chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. She also serves as the medical school's first vice dean for population health and health equity.
Beverly Daniel Tatum Selected to Lead Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts
Dr. Tatum served as president of Spelman College in Atlanta from 2002 to 2015. Previously she was a professor of psychology and dean of the college at Mount Holyoke College. Earlier in her career, she taught at Westfield State College in Massachusetts and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Irvin T. Clark is the New President of Southern Crescent Technical College in Griffin,...
Dr. Clark has more than 20 years of experience in higher education, including leading Georgia Piedmont Technical College’s Economic Development division since 2017. Earlier, he was vice president and CEO at the Harrisburg Campus of Harrisburg Community College in Pennsylvania.
Hampton University Names its Thirteenth President
U.S. Army retired Lt. Gen. Darrell K. Williams has been named the thirteenth president of Hampton University in Virginia. He will replace William R. Harvey, who retires on June 30 after leading Hampton for 44 years. General Williams retired from the U.S. Army in 2020 after 37 years of service. His last leadership position was director of the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency.
Wayne A.I. Frederick to Step Down as President of Howard University by June 2024
Dr. Frederick, who had been serving as provost, was named interim president of Howard University in 2013 and assumed the permanent position in 2014. He has spent 34 years at Howard as a student, faculty member, administrator, and president.
Kiki Baker Barnes Named Commissioner of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference
Since 2006, Dr. Barnes has served as athletic director at Dillard University in New Orleans. Founded in 1981, the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. It is a league entirely comprised of historically Black colleges and universities from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.
A Pair of African Americans Appointed to Dean Positions
Michèle Alexandre was named dean of Loyola University of Chicago’s School of Law and Tevis D. Bryant has been appointed vice president for student life and dean of students at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Valerie Sheares Ashby Will Be the Next President of the University of Maryland Baltimore...
Since 2015, Dr. Ashby has been dean of the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. From 2003 to 2105, Dr. Ashby served on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, she chaired the chemistry department from 2012 to 2015.
Almesha Campbell of Jackson State University Named Chair-Elect of AUTM
AUTM is a global nonprofit organization whose members support the commercialization of academic research. AUTM has its roots in the Society of University Patent Administrators from the 1970s. Its name was later changed to the Association of University Technology Managers, but now only AUTM is used.
Three Universities Have Named African Americans to Provost Positions
Rondall E. Allen has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Mignon Jacobs is the new vice president of academic affairs and provost at Virginia Union University and Marie Chisholm-Burns was appointed executive vice president and provost of Oregon Health & Science University.
Four Black Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
The four Black scholars appointed to dean posts are C. Debra M. Furr-Holden at New York University, Charles W. Richardson, Jr. at Alabama A&M University, Kimberly R. Moffitt at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Richard L. Moss at the University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College.
Gregory Vincent Appointed President of Talladega College in Alabama
Dr. Vincent is the former president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York Previously, he was the W.K. Kellogg Professor of Community College Leadership, professor of law, and vice president for diversity and community engagement at the University of Texas at Austin.
Bill Pink Chosen as the Next President of Ferris State University in Big Rapids,...
Dr. Pink has been serving as president of Grand Rapids Community College since May 2017. Earlier, he was vice president and dean at the college. Dr. Pink is scheduled to become the nineteenth president of Ferris State University on July 1.
A Trio of Black Scholars Appointed to Positions as Deans
Ronald Aubert has been appointed interim dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Richard J. Reddick was appointed dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and Sharon Porterfield was appointed dean of the College of Education at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Frederick Community College in Maryland Has Chosen Annessa Cheek as Its Next President
Dr. Cheek has served as president of St. Cloud Technical and Community College in Minnesota since 2018. From 2014 to 2018, she was vice president of school and community partnerships at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio. She had been on the staff at that college since 2006.
Jomo Mutegi Selected to Lead the National Association for Research in Science Technology
NARST is a worldwide organization for improving science teaching and learning through research. Dr. Mutegi, an associate professor of science education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has been a member of NARST since 1995.
A Pair of African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
Sharon Porterfield was appointed dean of the College of Education at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Shatrela Washington-Hubbard was named the Swinton A. Griffith III Dean of the College of Business & Communication at Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia.
Hampton University’s Felicia Blow Elected Chair of the Public Relations Society of America
Dr. Blow joined the staff at Hampton University in 2017 as associate vice president for development. She had previously worked in manufacturing, waste management and environmental services, telecommunications, and for Paul D. Camp Community College and Tidewater Community College.
Syracuse University’s Gwendolyn Pough to Lead the Rhetoric Society of America
Gwendolyn Pough, dean’s professor of the humanities and professor of women’s and gender studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University in New York, will serve a six-year term as president-elect, president, and past-president, of the Rhetoric Society of America, beginning in July.
Rodney Priestley Will Be the Next Dean of the Graduate School at Princeton University
Dr. Priestley joined the Princeton faculty as an assistant professor in 2009 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles in Paris. He became an associate professor in 2015 and a full professor in 2019.
Ruth Simmons Announces She Plans to Step Down as President of Prairie View A&M...
Ruth Simmons, president of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, has announced that she plans to retire but is willing to continue serving in the role until her successor is named. Dr. Simmons came out of retirement in 2017 to lead the historically Black university.
LaTonia Collins Smith Is the New President of Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis
Dr. Colllins Smith has been serving as interim president since last summer. Before being named interim president, Dr. Collins Smith had been serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the university. She has been on the staff at the university since 2010.
