Eight Black Administrators Taking on New Roles at Colleges and Universities

Akua Johnson Matherson is the new chief financial officer and vice chancellor for administration and finance at North Carolina Central University. Matherson previously served as interim chief financial officer and vice chancellor for administration and finance, associate vice chancellor for administration and finance, and budget director at the university. Prior to joining NCCU in 2016, Matherson worked for 17 years at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Matherson earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in adult education from North Carolina A&T State University.

Peter Gitau is the new vice president for student affairs at Butte College in Oroville, California. He has been serving as vice president for student affairs at Dixie State University in Utah.

Dr. Gitau is a graduate of Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, where he majored in secondary education. He holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from Eastern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Kansas.

Stan Waddell has been promoted to vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He has been serving as associate vice president for computing services since joining the university in 2019. Before joining Carnegie Mellon, Dr. Waddell served as the associate vice president for information technology and CIO at the University of New Hampshire.

Dr. Waddell holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He earned a master’s degree in management and administration sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a doctorate in information systems from Nova Southeastern University.

Ashley Brown is the new director of the Student Center for Social Justice and Identity at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Brown comes to Vanderbilt from Georgia State University, where she served as the assistant director for equity, diversity, and inclusion for university housing for three years.

Brown is a graduate of Texas State University. She holds a master’s degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and is completing work on an educational doctorate from the University of Georgia.

Alexander Rundlet was named chief strategist for the Social Justice Institute at Florida Memorial University. In private practice in Miami, Alexander has extensive experience as a civil litigator in civil rights and class action cases.

Rundlet is a graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he majored in history. He earned his law degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

Marilyn Sutton-Haywood was appointed interim vice president of academic affairs at Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut. She most recently served as dean of the division of liberal arts and sciences at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina.

Dr. Sutton-Haywood is a graduate of North Carolina Central University. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Atlanta University.

Jocelyn Biggs is the new associate vice president of enrollment at Clinton College in Rock Hill, South Carolina. She was director of admissions at Virginia Union University in Richmond. Previously, Biggs held admissions positions at Johnson C. Smith University, Bennett College, and Livingstone College.

Biggs earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, and a master’s degree in higher education administration/enrollment management from Bay Path University in Massachusetts.

Kimberly Hardy-Porter is the new director of the Credentials for Leadership in Management and Business (CLIMB) program at Wilberforce University in Ohio. She taught English as a second language at Columbus State Community College in Ohio.

Dr. Porter is a graduate of Wilberforce University. She holds a master’s degree in education and an educational doctorate, both from Northcentral University.

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