New Black college presidents

Ebony, Sept, 2005

Prestige. Leadership. Responsibility. Power. Scholar. Educator. All of these qualities are a part of what it means to be a president of a college or university. The following five persons, all of whom have been lamed within the past year, have stepped up to the challenge of being president at a historically Black college or university. And several other HBCUs have selected interim presidents.

DR. WALTER M. KIMBROUGH is the 12th president at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark. At age 38, Dr. Kimbrough is one of the few college presidents from the hip-hop generation, and he is presently the youngest HBCU president. Before accepting the post, Kimbrough served as vice president for student affairs at Albany State University, and he also served in administrative capacities at Old Dominion University, Georgia State University and Emory University. Kimbrough earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Georgia and a master's degree from Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. He earned his Ph.D. in higher education from Georgia State University. With a strong fraternity experience, Dr. Kimbrough is considered an expert on historically Black fraternities and sororities. He has given more than 350 presentations on Black Greek life at various campuses and conferences, and he is author of the book Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities.

DR. CAROLYN R. MAHONEY is the new president of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., making her the first woman president to serve at the university. Dr. Mahoney formerly served as the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Elizabeth City State in North Carolina, where, prior to that position, she served as the dean for the school of mathematics, science and technology. Mahoney earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics at Siena College in Memphis, Tenn., and earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Ohio State University. Mahoney is well-known for her service on various advisory committees. She was a member of the National Research Council Committee that created the report, "On Evaluating the Curricular Effectiveness: Judging the Quality of K-12 Mathematics Evaluations." In 2002, she was a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

DR. MARVALENE HUGHES is the ninth president of Dillard University in New Orleans. She is the first woman president-elect at Dillard. Before accepting the new position, she served as the president of California State University-Stanislaus. While at California State, Dr. Hughes also was a professor of psychology. Prior to her position at California State, she was the vice president for student affairs and the vice provost at the University of Minnesota. Additionally, Hughes has served in various administrative capacities at the University of Toledo, Arizona State University and San Diego State University. She earned a bachelor of science degree in English from Tuskegee University, a master's in counseling and administration, and a Ph.D. in counseling from Florida State University. Hughes, the founding member and annual program chair for the Millennium Leadership Institute, has been actively involved in various professional associations, including the American Council on Education's Commission on Women in Higher Education.

DR. MELVIN N. JOHNSON is the seventh president of Tennessee State University in Nashville. Prior to accepting the TSU post, Dr. Johnson served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Winston-Salem State University. While at WSSU, Johnson was a tenured professor of economics. He also served in senior academic roles at North Carolina A&T State University. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics from North Carolina A&T State University, a master's degree from Ball State University and a doctor of business administration degree from Indiana University. He is also a former National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) Kellogg Leadership Fellow.

DR. JOANN W. HAYSBERT is the new president of Langston University in Langston, Okla. She is the first woman president at Langston. Prior to assuming the Langston post, Dr. Haysbert served as the provost and chief operating officer at Hampton University. She also served as the acting president of Hampton while President William R. Harvey was on a sabbatical. Haysbert, who earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Johnson C. Smith University, also earned a master's degree and Ph.D. from Auburn University. For more than a decade, she was assistant vice president for academic affairs at Hampton, where she served on various committees.