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South Carolina State University has released the names of five finalists who are vying to become the university’s 10th president.
The finalists, whose names were released Tuesday, range from a official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., to a vice president at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
The finalists are Dr. Juanita Fain, Dr. Lawrence Davenport, Dr. George E. Cooper, Dr, Juliette B. Bell and Dr. Johnson O. Akinleye.
S.C. State Trustee Lumus Byrd has said he expects the candidates to visit campus next week to meet stakeholders of the university. Following that, the presidential search committee will select three candidates to submit to the university’s board for consideration.
The committee has set a target date of July 1 for the new president to be in place. Byrd said the process is moving along smoothly and reaching that target date should not be a problem.
The committee started the nationwide search for former President Dr. Andrew Hugine’s replacement in early January. The board decided to not renew Hugine’s contract last December and tapped Dr. Leonard McIntyre to be the interim president.
A look at each of the finalists:
Dr. Johnson O. Akinleye was the only finalist the Times and Democrat was able to reach by telephone.
Akinleye said his broad academic background has prepared him to take over the presidential reins at S.C. State. “I have the skills and know-how to bring various constituencies at the academic institution together,” he said. He is currently the associate vice chancellor for academic programs at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
During his 20 years in higher education, he has served as vice president at Edward Waters College and Bethune-Cookman College. In addition, he was a dean and department chair at Bethune-Cookman.
He earned his doctorate in organizational communication from Howard University.
Akinleye says he has experience in program planning, strategic planning, fund-raising and accreditation. S.C. State is up for reaccreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2010.
He says the ultimate goal of an institution should be to contribute on a local and national level.
The hallmark of an Akinleye administration would be to create an institution that is on the cutting edge, competitive, fiscally strong and diverse, he said.
In his spare time, Akinleye enjoys reading, traveling and coaching his son’s local high school soccer team.
Dr. Lawrence Davenport is interim president of the Paragon Foundation in West Palm Beach, Fla. The foundation seeks to help African-American businesses in the greater Miami community.
Davenport resigned as chief operating officer of Florida Atlantic University last April. He served one year of a six-year contract there, saying that a planned long-term capital campaign conflicted with his goal of becoming a university president.
FAU gave Davenport nearly $580,000 in severance pay, according to a Palm Beach Post article in January. While a state lawmaker complained about the severance package, university officials said they paid out to avoid legal action, according to the article.
Davenport’s original job at FAU was executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Prior to that, he served as executive director of the Hale House Center Inc. in New York, deputy chief administrative officer for the U.S. House of Representatives, vice president of finance and operations for the Milton Hershey School and chief financial officer for the Seattle Public School system.
He also served as assistant secretary of education for the U.S. Department of Education under two separate secretaries.
Davenport was a finalist for the presidency of Florida A&M University.
He earned his doctorate from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
n Dr. George E. Cooper is the deputy administrator for Science and Education Resources Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
He served in several capacities with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the past 13 years. He was vice president of academic affairs at Alabama A&M University and dean of animal science at Tuskegee University.
Cooper is a graduate of Florida A&M University and received his master’s degree from Tuskegee University. In 1972, he earned his doctorate in animal nutrition from Illinois University.
Dr. Juanita Fain is interim vice president for student affairs at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas.
Fain has a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee and a doctorate in higher education administration from Ohio University.
During her 35 years in higher education, she has served in an array of administrative positions at Morristown College, the University of Tennessee and Ohio University.
At both Ohio University and UNLV, Fain has managed enrollment and helped prepare underclassmen for the rigors of college life. McIntyre has sought to dramatically improve those areas for an expected spike in enrollment this coming fall.
Dr. Juliette Bell is provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.
She has also served as an interim dean at Fayetteville State. During her tenure there in 1992, she has accumulated more than $6 million in research grants.
Bell received a myriad of teaching awards and acknowledgements before moving into administration in 2004.
She completed her undergraduate work at Talladega College and has a doctorate in chemistry from Atlanta University.
T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by e-mail at ltant@times anddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060. Discuss this and other stories at TheTandD.com.