Three Black Presidents in Higher Education Announce Their Resignations
The retiring presidents are Rochelle Ford from Dillard University, Logan Hampton from Lane College, and Belle Wheelan from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
A Change in Leadership at Florida Memorial University
Jaffus Hardrick, president of Florida Memorial University, has stepped down from his role after five years in the position. Until a permanent successor is appointed, William C. McCormick, former university board chairman, will serve as interim president.
Tuajuanda Jordan to Retire From the Presidency of St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Dr. Jordan has led St. Mary's College of Maryland for the past 10 years. She has previously held faculty and leadership positions with Xavier University of Louisiana, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Lewis & Clark College.
Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney Announces Retirement
In 2014, Dr. Berger-Sweeney became the first African American and first woman president of Trinity College since its founding in 1823. Over the past decade, the college has experienced growth in enrollment and graduation rates, hired more diverse faculty, and improved campus infrastructure.
Two African American Scholars Announce Their Retirements From Indiana Universities
The retiring scholars are Charles Sykes, executive director of the African American Arts Institute at Indiana University, and Willie Reed, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Purdue University.
Howard University Fine Arts Dean Phylicia Rashad Announces Retirement
Dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at historically Black Howard University, Phylicia Rashad, has announced her retirement at the end of this academic year. She is best known for her role as Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
Atlanta University Library CEO Loretta Parham Announces Retirement
"It has been my privilege to lead the AUC Woodruff Library, guiding it to its current level of excellence," said Parham. "I am forever grateful for the contributions of the Library staff and the commitment of the presidents of our member institutions who believe, as I do, in the value and strength of the nation’s HBCUs and their students who are deserving of nothing less than the best."
North Carolina Central University Chancellor to Step Down in June
Dr. Johnson Akinleye joined NCCU as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs in February 2014, then assumed the role of acting chancellor in August 2016 and interim chancellor in December 2016, before his appointment as chancellor in 2017.
Claudine Gay Resigns as President of Harvard University
Dr. Gay had served as president of Harvard University for only six months. She was the first African American and the second woman to lead Harvard in its nearly 400-year history.
Harold Martin Announces He Will Step Down as Leader of North Carolina Agricultural and...
Harold L. Martin, Sr., who is in his fifteenth year as leader of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2023-24 school year. He is currently the longest-serving chancellor in the 17-campus University of North Carolina System.
Two African American Women Scholars Announce They Are Stepping Down
Phylicia Rashad will step down from her position as dean of the Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University in Washington, D.C. at the end of the current academic year and Sonya Williams resigned as chancellor of Eastern Iowa Community College, after serving in the post for just one year.
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.
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."
President of Central State University to Step Down on June 30
Dr. Thomas became president of Central State University in July 2020. After taking a sabbatical, he will return to the university as a tenured professor. From 2011 to 2019, Dr. Thomas was president of Western Illinois University.
Linda Oubré Is Steeping Down as President of Whittier College in California
Linda Oubré, president of Whittier College in California, has announced that she will step down from her post on June 30. She was the first African American and the first person of color to serve as president of Whittier College. An alumni group called Save Whittier College had called for Dr. Oubré to resign due to poor fundraising results.
Fayneese Miller, President of Hamline University in Minnesota, to Step Down in 2024
After a controversy surrounding the handling of an incident where an art history instructor showed depictions of the Prophet Muhammad during an Islamic art class, Fayneese Miller, president of the university, announced she will retire on June 30, 2024. In January, a large majority of the university's faculty urged President Miller to resign over her handling of the incident.
President of Langston University in Oklahoma Will Be Leaving Academia
Kent J. Smith, Jr., announced that he will retire as president of Langston University in Oklahoma at the end of the current semester. Dr. Smith will become the owner/operator of a Chick-fil-A franchise.
Head of African American Studies Department at Penn State Resigns in Protest
Michael West, head of the African American studies department at Pennsylvania State University, has resigned as chair but will remain a member of the faculty. He has served less than one year of a five-year term. Dr. West says that five faculty have left the department since 2019 and only two new faculty members have been hired.
Lester Newman Is Stepping Down as President of Jarvis Christian University in June
During his tenure, Dr. Newman has improved the educational institution's financial position, increased enrollments, and restored athletic programs. He added bachelor's degree programs and presided over the transition from a college to a university with the addition of two new master’s degrees in business and criminal justice.
Clarence Armbrister to Step Down in June From Presidency of Johnson C. Smith University
Clarence Armbrister became the fourteenth president of the historically Black university on January 1, 2018. He had been president of Girard College, an independent college preparatory school in Philadelphia. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief of staff at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and executive vice president and chief operating officer at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Sylvia M. Jenkins to Retire From Presidency of Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois
Dr. Jenkins started out her career as a librarian at Virginia Union University in Richmond. She joined the library staff at Moraine Valley in 1986 and in 1995 was named department chair of the library. She subsequently served in several administrative positions before becoming president of the college in 2012.
Nikki Giovanni Named University Distinguished Professor Emerita at Virginia Tech
Professor Giovanni began teaching at Virginia Tech in 1987. She is the author of many collections of poetry, children’s books, and works of nonfiction. She has published 11 illustrated children’s books and received 30 honorary degrees
Cynthia Warrick Will Step Down From Presidency of Stillman College in Alabama Next June
Dr. Warrick was named interim president of Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in January 2017 and was elevated to president later that year. She is the first woman to serve as president of the college.
The End of an Era: Nikki Giovanni Retires After 35 Years on the Faculty...
Professor Giovanni has been teaching at Virginia Tech since 1987. She is the author of many collections of poetry, children’s books, and works of nonfiction. She has published 11 illustrated children's books, received 30 honorary degrees and seven NAACP Image Awards, and has been a finalist for a Grammy and for the National Book Award.
West Liberty University Board Votes to End the Tenure of the University’s First Black...
In January 2021, W. Franklin Evans took over as the 37th president of West Liberty University in West Virginia. Dr. Evans was the first African-American president in the university’s then 183-year history. Just 20 months later, the university's board of trustees voted not to renew his contract.
President of York College in Pennsylvania Will Retire at the End of the 2022-23...
Dr. Gunter-Smith became the fourth president of York College in 2013 after serving as provost and academic vice president at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. Previously, she was the Porter Professor of Physiology at Spelman College in Atlanta.
Brian K. Mitchell Has Resigned from His Faculty Post at the University of Arkansas...
Shortly after being granted tenure last year, Brian K. Mitchell, an associate professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, filed an employment discrimination lawsuit in federal court against the university. Now Dr. Mitchell has resigned from his faculty position.
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.
Livingstone College President Jimmy Jenkins Announces That He Will Retire on July 1
Dr. Jenkins has served as president of the historically Black college for the past 16 years. He is credited with saving the college from closure from its accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Rodney Bennett Announces He Will Step Down as President of the University of Southern...
Rodney Bennett, who has served as president of the University of Southern Mississippi since 2013, announced that he will step down from his post at the end of his contract in 2023. He is the first African American to serve as president of one of the state's five predominantly White public universities.
Colette Pierce Burnette Is Stepping Down as President of Huston-Tillotson University in Texas
Dr. Pierce Burnette was named president in 2015. She is the first woman to hold the position since the 1952 merger of Tillotson College and Samuel Huston College. She will pass the baton of leadership on June 30.
Ray Belton to Step Down as Head of Southern University and the Southern University...
Ray L. Belton president of the Southern University System and chancellor of Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana announced that he intends to retire in the fall of 2022. He has held these posts since 2015. Earlier, he was chancellor of Southern University Shreveport.
Four African Americans Who Have Stepped Down From Their Higher Education Posts
The four African Americans who have retired from their positions in the academic world are Forrester Lee at Yale University, Micheline Rice-Maximin at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, William Welburn at Marquette University in Milwaukee, and Lynn Thompson at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach Florida.
Shirley Ann Jackson to Step Down as President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2022
Dr. Jackson was chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1995 to 1999. She then left government service to take over as the 18th president of RPI in 1999. She was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in any discipline from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Talladega College President Billy Hawkins to Retire Next Summer
When Dr. Hawkins took the helm at Talladega in 2008, the institution was struggling to survive and had under 300 students. The latest enrollments numbers available from the U.S. Department of Education show more than 1,200 students.
Three African American Men Who Are Stepping Down From Their University Posts
Willie Fleming, chief diversity officer at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, is retiring. Cecil Hicks, Jr., of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and Edward J. Lewis III, of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts are taking positions outside of higher education.
