Breaking News

Dr. Shanderson comes to Methodist College with more than 20 years of higher education experience, most recently as founding dean of the School of Health Sciences at Northcentral University, a private online university headquartered in San Diego, California.

Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County has announced his plan to retire at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year. Under his leadership, UMBC is now the nation’s top producer of Black graduates who go on to earn a Ph.D. in the natural sciences and engineering. 

Mira Lowe, a veteran journalist and editor, has been assistant dean for student experiences at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications since 2019. Before entering academia, Lowe enjoyed a successful career as a professional journalist.

Mona Lisa Saloy is the Conrad N. Hilton Endowed Professor of English at historically Black Dillard University in New Orleans. A native of New Orleans, Professor Saloy holds a master of fine arts degree in creative writing and a Ph.D. in English from Louisiana State University.

Dr. Thomas comes to HERS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she served as the director of the Carolina Women’s Center. Prior to her time at UNC, Dr. Thomas served as the executive director of the Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan.

Ahkinyala Cobb-Abdullah is the new interim dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Virginia Union University in Richmond and Vincent Mumford was named Interim dean of graduate studies at West Liberty University in West Virginia.

Dr. Robinson has been serving as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. He was named provost last year and has served as vice chancellor of student affairs since 2015. Dr. Robinson’s time at the University of Arkansas spans more than 20 years, beginning as an assistant professor of history.

Dr. Coats, who brings more than 13 years of higher education experience to the role, has been serving as assistant director of academic support services for the campus and has been employed at the university for nearly nine years. Dr. Coats previously worked for Texas A&M University at Texarkana and the University of Central Arkansas.

J. Lee Brown III is the new dean of the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. Ramona Denby-Brinson has been appointed dean of the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Karen C. Goff was appointed dean of students at Oberlin College in Ohio.

Previously, Dr. Francis was the college's chief executive officer at the institute overseeing the day-to-day operations of the college. Earlier, she served as chief of staff to the institute's president. Prior to joining BFIT, she served as the managing director of development for Harvard Medical School.

Venetria K. Patton was appointed the Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Michelle Corley was named dean of the College of Engineering, Science, Technology, and Agriculture at Central State University in Ohio and Toneyce S. Randolph was appointed dean of academic services at Clinton College in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Since 2017, Dr. Orinthia T. Montague has been president of Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, New York. She previously served as vice president of student affairs and chief diversity officer, and dean of students, at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota, and as dean of students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

For over three decades, Dr. Morris has served in several roles at Tuskegee University including chief of staff to the president and secretary to the board of trustees. Most recently, Dr. Morris served as the director of the university’s Title III program.

Yekemi Otaru, a 42-year-old native of Nigeria, holds four higher education degrees and has considerable industrial experience in engineering and marketing. She is co-founder and executive director at Doqaru Limited, a prominent Aberdeen-based sales and marketing firm.

The new deans are Ashley C. Benson at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Tywana Hemby at Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina, Ethel Scurlock at the University of Mississippi, and Jackie Jones at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Dr. Edwards Lange has been serving as president of Seattle Central College. She was the vice president for minority affairs and diversity for the University of Washington from 2007 to 2015. Dr. Edwards Lange is scheduled to become chancellor at the University of Washington-Tacoma on September 16.

Paulette Dillard was named interim president of historically Black Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2017. A little more than a year later she became the eighteenth president of Shaw University. Now the board of trustees has extended President Dillard's contract for five years.

Dr. Cornish has been serving as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Ithaca College since 2018. Earlier, she was associate provost for undergraduate studies at Goucher College in Baltimore. She joined the faculty at Goucher in 1998 as an instructor of English. 

M. Christopher Brown resigned his position as the 18th president of Kentucky State University. He was contracted to serve as president through 2025. The resignation comes on the heels of a state-ordered independent audit of the university's finances. The university's board of regents named Clara Ross Stamps, Kentucky State’s senior vice president for brand identity and university relations, as acting president.

Prior to being named the president of Voorhees, Dr. Hopkins served as interim president, and before that, he was the institution’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. He is also a tenured professor of English. Before coming to Voorhees, Dr. Hopkins served at Benedict College as founding dean of the Freshman Institute and the School of Honors.