New Administrative Positions for Seven African Americans in Higher Education

Alonda Thomas is the new associate vice president for university communications and chief communications officer at Jackson State University in Mississippi. She has been serving as director of public relations at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

A native of Miami, Florida, Thomas attended the prestigious New World School of the Arts, where she studied musical theater. She received her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Florida A&M University and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Florida State University.

Terence Peavy was recently named vice president for institutional field relations for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in Philadelphia. He formerly held the position of assistant vice president for enrollment management at the Fashion Institute of Technology and taught at the Marxe School of Public Policy and International Affairs at Baruch College of the City University of New York.

Dr. Peavy obtained his bachelor’s degree in speech communication from York College in Pennsylvania. He earned a master’s degree in educational supervision and leadership at Fordham University in New York and a doctorate in organizational leadership studies from Northeastern University in Boston.

Nicole Reaves was appointed executive vice president and chief programs officer at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dr. Reeves served in senior leadership roles at Northern Virginia Community College, the second-largest community college in the nation, Wilbur Wright College, the largest of seven colleges in the City of Chicago system, and Westmoreland County Community College, in Youngwood, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Reaves holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She earned a doctorate in higher education administration from North Carolina State University.

Sean Plater is the new general manager of public television station WHUT-TV, operated by Howard University in Washington, D.C. Plater will retain his role as general manager of Howard University’s WHUR-FM, which has become the No. 1 music radio station in Washington, D.C.

Plater earned a bachelor’s degree from the Howard University School of Communications in 2007. He holds an MBA from the University of Maryland.

Ingenue’ Schexnider-Fields was promoted to controller at Xavier University of Louisiana. She has worked as an accountant at the university since 2003. Most recently, she served as director of financial reporting/external audits.

Schexnider-Fields is a graduate of Southern University-New Orleans, where she majored in accounting.

W. Rebecca Brown was named interim chief financial officer and vice president for finance and administration at Florida A&M University, She has been on the staff at the university for 22 years, most recently as assistant vice president for finance and administration.

Earlier in her career, Brown was chief financial officer at Morehouse College in Atlanta. She is a graduate of Florida A&M University.

Reggie Theus has been named to the dual role of athletic director and men’s basketball coach for Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Theus played in the National Basketball Association for 13 years and also was the coach of the Sacramento Kings. He has also coached at the collegiate level at New Mexico State University and California State University, Northridge.

Theus played his college basketball at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. How is it possible to become an Athletic Director at an HBCU without having a minimum of a BA degree? What type of role model is that for current or future student-athletes. Really.

  2. Mr. Thesus does have a baccalaureate degree, in fact he has two. Theus completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration from California Coast University in 2002, and also has a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Central Michigan University. They sometimes leave out information regarding degrees when there is a long profile than normal. I have seen it done here before. He was the head coach at CSU Northridge, and he had to have his degree in order to be hired there, he had two even then.

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