A Change in Leadership at Savannah State University in Georgia
Kimberly Ballard-Washington has resigned as president of Savannah State University in Georgia for "personal reasons." The University System of Georgia named Cynthia Robinson Alexander as interim president of Savannah State University. She has been serving as associate vice chancellor for finance at the University System of Georgia. She joined the university system in 2009.
Marshall Fulbright III Named President of the Monterey Peninsula Community College
Dr. Fulbright is currently the vice president of academic affairs at Grossmont College in El Cajon, California. Previously he was an instructional dean at Norco College and the College of the Sequoias.
California State Universities Appoint Two African American Men to Dean Positions
Arnold Holland is the new dean of the College of the Arts at California State University, Fullerton and Mitch Mitchell has been appointed associate vice president for student success and dean of students at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata.
Christy L. Brown Will Be the Next President of Alverno College in Milwaukee
Since 2012, Brown has served as chief executive officer for Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast. Prior to leading the Girl Scouts, Brown served as vice chancellor for finance and administrative affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2007 to 2012. Earlier, she was executive vice president and general counsel at Milwaukee Area Technical College from 2002 to 2007.
Ron K. Patterson Appointed the Twelfth President of Chadron State College in Nebraska
Dr. Patterson has been serving as vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion and director of the presidential mentor’s academy at the University of North Alabama in Florence. He joined the staff there in 2016. Previously he served as vice president for enrollment management at Marietta College in Ohio.
Steven Watkin Will Be the New Leader of Bakersfield College in California
Watkin was hired by Bakersfield College nine years ago to build an outreach program in partnership with local area high schools. Most recently, he has served as associate vice chancellor of enrollment management at the Kern Community College District. In addition, Watkin has been pastor of the Church of God in Christ in Arvin, California, for the past 11 years.
Rodney Bennett Selected to Serve as the Next Chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
As required by state law, Dr. Bennett’s candidacy now undergoes a 30-day vetting period which will include a series of public sessions during which members of the university community and the news media can meet him and ask questions. After 30 days, the board of regents can vote on Dr. Bennett's appointment. If approved, he will be the first African American to lead the university.
Nerita Hughes Selected to Become President of Bay de Noc Community College in Michigan
Dr. Hughes has been serving as the interim associate vice president of academic affairs and workforce innovation and dean of the School of Business, Careers, Education, and Workforce Innovation at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. She will begin her term as president on July 10.
J. Luke Wood Selected to Lead California State University, Sacramento
Dr. Wood has been serving as vice president for student affairs and campus diversity and chief diversity officer and the Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Education at San Diego State University. He joined the faculty there in 2011.
Kimberly Rogers Appointed the Fifteenth President of Contra Costa College in California
Before being named acting president of the college in 2022, Dr. Rogers was vice president for instruction. Earlier in her career, she held academic appointments at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System, the University of Massachusetts Boston, and the Université de Haute-Alsace in France.
Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus Names Its New Provost
Jill Drake had served in the role on an interim basis for only a month when her appointment to the post on a permanent basis was made. Previously, she was associate vice president for academic affairs and a professor of education at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton.
Dewayne Middleton Appointed President of Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi
The board of trustees of Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Mississippi, has named Dewayne Middleton as the ninth president of the college, effective July 1. Since 2021, he has been serving as executive vice president of the college.
A Change in Leadership at Tougaloo College in Mississippi
Carmen J. Walters is stepping down from her post as president of Tougaloo College in Mississippi. She has been president of the private HBCU since July 2019. No reason was given for her departure. An alumni group had been seeking her ouster. Donzell Lee, who worked as a faculty member and administrator at Alcorn State University for 45 years, has been selected to serve as interim president,
Three African American Men Who Have Been Appointed to Provost Positions at Universities
Stevie Lawrence II has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Farrell J. Webb is the new provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, and Ricardo Phipps is the new provost and vice president for academic affairs at Saint Augustine's University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Yolanda Page Selected as the Eighth President of Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Since last fall, Dr. Page has been serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Savannah State University in Georgia. Earlier, she was a professor of English and vice president in the Division of Academic Affairs at Dillard University in New Orleans.
State University of New York at Oswego Selects Peter Nwosu as Its Next President
Dr. Nwosu has been serving as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and student success at Herbert H. Lehman College, a campus of the City University of New York in The Bronx. Prior to this role, he served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Clark Atlanta University.
Three Black Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed University Deans
Pamela McCauley will be the next dean of the School of Engineering at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. Cheryl Blackman was named dean of the College of Professional Studies at Bowie State University in Maryland and M. Evelyn Fields has been appointed dean of the College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences at South Carolina State University.
Michele Carter Will Be the First African American Chancellor of Central Texas College in...
Dr. Carter began her career at Central Texas College 32 years ago as a receptionist. Most recently, she has served as deputy chancellor of finance and administration. When she takes office on July 1, she will be the first woman and the first African American to lead the college.
The New Leader of Buffalo State University in New York
Bonita R. Durand was named interim president of Buffalo State University, a campus of the State University of New York System. She will not be a candidate for permanent president of the university. Bonita Durand retired in 2018 after 22 years of service to SUNY Buffalo State, where she served as chief of staff and a graduate faculty member in the university’s higher education administration department.
Raphael Florestal-Kevelier Selected to Lead the American College Health Association
Raphael Florestal-Kevelie is the assistant vice chancellor for student health and wellness and a clinical assistant professor of community health sciences in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois Chicago. The American College Health Association has 750 higher education member institutions representing nearly 10,000 members.
Tony D. Hawkins Appointed President of Broome Community College in Binghamton, New York
Dr. Hawkins has served for the past eight years as the provost and executive vice president of academic affairs, continuing education, and workforce development at Frederick Community College in Maryland. Prior to this role, he was the college-wide dean of humanities at Montgomery College in Maryland.
Pamela Haney Is the New President of Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois
Since 2012, Dr. Haney has been serving as vice president for academic affairs at the college. Prior to coming to Moraine Valley in 2009, Dr. Haney served as program administrator and assistant professor of communication arts at Defiance College in Ohio. She also taught as an assistant professor of speech communication at Norfolk State University in Virginia.
Three African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Provost Positions
Pamela E. Scott-Johnson was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Spelman College in Atlanta, effective August 1. Allyson L. Watson was appointed provost and vice president for academic affairs at Florida A&M University and Ana Hunt was named provost of the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College.
Five African Americans Who Have Been Appointed Deans at Universities
Newly appointed to dean positions are Monika Williams Shealey at Temple University in Philadelphia, Kenyatta R. Gilbert at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Jonathan Bailey Holland at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Sharonda Ragland at Virginia Union University, and Twinette Johnson at the University of the District of Columbia.
A Change in Leadership at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis
Vernell A. Bennett-Fairs, president of LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis has resigned. No reason was given for her departure, just two and a half years since taking the job. Christopher Davis has been appointed as interim president.
Supreme Court Ends Race-Sensitive Admissions in Higher Education
In a 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities can no longer use race as a specific basis for granting admission. Doing so would, according to the Court, be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Supreme Court Blocks Biden Administration’s Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Plan
The student debt crisis disproportionately impacts African Americans. For example, the average graduate education debt for Whites who earned doctorates in 2019 was $31,657. African Americans who earned doctorates in 2019, had an average graduate student debt of $84,050.
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.
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.
Koffi C. Akakpo Will Be the Nineteenth President of Kentucky State University
Since February 2019, Dr. Akakpo has been president of Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Lexington, Kentucky. Before becoming president of the community college, he was vice president for business, administrative, and student services at North Central State College in Mansfield, Ohio.
The University of the District of Columbia Has Selected Its Next President
Maurice Eddington was the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Florida A&M University. In his 25 years at FAMU, Dr. Edington rose from assistant professor to being the second-highest-ranked administrator at the Tallahassee campus. He will begin his new duties on August 1.
Four African American Women Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions
The new deans are Patricia Timmons-Goodson at North Carolina Central University, Badia Ahad at Oxford College of Emory University in Atlanta, Brittini Brown at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and Tiyahri Wilson at Texas Southern University in Houston.
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.
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.
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.
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.
