DonateMartin University Introduces Four Finalists
Four candidates with extensive education credentials are the finalists for the presidency of Martin University, according to Bill West, vice chair of the board of trustees of the University and chair of the search committee that has been reviewing and interviewing dozens of candidates over the past few months.
Rev. Fr. Boniface Hardin, founding president of the institution that began as Martin Center College in 1977, will step aside on December 31 of this year.
The public met with the candidates at a series of receptions during the first week of October in the Gathertorium of the Educational Center on the university campus, 2171 Avondale Place, near 22nd St. and Sherman Drive.
The candidate selected to be Martin's next president will be announced in December.
Dr. Algeania Freeman
Dr. Algeania Freeman, former President of Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC, currently serves as president and CEO of The Freeman Group, Inc., where she has provided contractual consulting services for various organizations since 2004, including serving as a senior fellow at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, providing fundraising consultation for a $14 million capital campaign.
She recently served as the vice president of development at the Foundation for Independent Higher Education, an organization representing 650 private colleges and universities and 36 fundraising organizations. She also founded and served as program director for the Kellogg Collegiate Women of Color Leadership Development Institute.
During her tenure as president of Livingstone (2001-2004), she successfully completed a $20 million capital campaign. During her presidency, student enrollment increased 12 percent, GPA averages of entering freshmen rose from 2.3 to 2.83, the average SAT entering score increased 100 percent, the retention rate of first-year students rose 17 percent, and there was a 150 percent increase in fundraising.
Also during her years at Livingstone, major renovations of the physical plant were completed and a 10-year regional accreditation, without qualifications, was obtained -- the first in the history of the college.
Dr. Freeman also served more than 16 years in many leadership positions at Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA; Southern California College and Orange Coast College, both in Costa Mesa, CA; Morgan State University, Baltimore; East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN; and North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro.
She holds a Ph.D. in Communications (speech and hearing science) from The Ohio State University. She has attended institutes for higher education at Harvard, Dartmouth, William & Mary, and Northwestern.
She has also been appointed to many national boards and committees in the private and government sectors.
Dr. Walter Howard
Dr. Walter Howard is currently Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Development Services at Allen University in Columbia, SC, where he is continuing a distinguished career in higher education. He is the former President of Roxbury Community College in Roxbury Crossing, MA, and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Talladega College in Talladega, AL.
At Roxbury, Dr. Howard managed a $50 million budget, developed a $900,000 foundation for student scholarships, led the attainment of the institution’s inaugural accreditation status, and formalized an agreement with Harvard University to provide volunteer faculty assistance for faculty development at Roxbury.
He also led the successful application for reaccreditation at both Allen and Talladega. At Talladega, he managed a $40 million budget and secured $4 million in faculty development grants, including a $1million Mellon grant for faculty to study abroad.
He holds degrees in Leadership Law/Planning, Counseling, and Social Science/ Psychology, including AT&T and United Negro College Fund Fellowships from Harvard, the University of Alabama, Fort Valley State University, and Paine College. He has studied in Salzburg, Austria, as an Andrew Mellon Fellowship recipient.
He received his Ph.D. in Leadership/Law/Planning from the University of Alabama.
Dr. Lelia L. Vickers
Dr. Lelia L. Vickers has spent the past 35 years in higher education, serving as a professor and administrator of education and psychology, helping prepare students for careers in teaching and school administration. She is a recognized leader in the accreditation of teacher preparation programs.
After receiving her Ph.D. in Reading, Psychology-Sociology from Duke University, she served as dean/division director of the Winston-Salem State University teacher education program, the first historically black institution to offer teaching licensure for elementary teachers, and dean at North Carolina A&T State University.
In addition to her direct involvement with students, she has served as president of the faculty senate, as a member of the statewide deans’ council, the Board of Directors for the American Association for Colleges Teacher Education, the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, and the executive committee of The Negro Educational Review.
She received a grant from the Ford Foundation to develop a program to prepare teacher assistants to be fully-qualified teachers. Most of these assistants, known as para-professionals, were more than 40 years old. The success rate for this program exceeded 80 percent. Throughout her career, she has secured more than $3 million from foundations to support teacher preparation.
Dr. Vickers has served as president of the North Carolina Association of Teacher Education. In addition, she has served as a consultant for leadership development at more than 50 colleges and universities, chaired more than 25 national accreditation teams, and published articles in many professional journals.
Her extensive travels have included six weeks in China as a Fulbright Scholar and a tour of Ghana at the time of its 50th anniversary of independence.
Dr. Bernice Bass de Martinez
Dr. Bernice Bass de Martinez currently serves as chair of the special education, rehabilitation, school psychology, and deaf studies department at California State University at Sacramento.
She received her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Florida.
Over a 14-year career in higher education, Dr. Bass de Martinez has served in many administrative roles, including department chair, academic dean, associate provost, vice president for academic affairs, and special assistant to the president. Some of the institutions with which she has been affiliated include California State University, Sacramento; California State University, Fresno; Seton Hall University; Mills College; and Indiana State University.
Having lived and worked in Terre Haute, Dr. Bass de Martinez is familiar with the Hoosier state. She has also worked on projects in Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean, as well as state and federal government service, including serving as Senior Fellow at the Association of American Colleges and Universities and Interim President and CEO for Leadership America.
She serves on the Women’s Museum Board Committee of Leadership America; the American Council on Education’s Office of Women in Higher Education’s Network Executive Board; the Advisory Board of the Euro-American Women’s Council; and as an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. In 2006, she was one of 10 recipients of the distinguished Artemis Award bestowed by the Euro-American Women’s Council in Athens, Greece.
She is a frequent speaker at regional and national events and has written for a large number of publications. Her Perspectives in Multicultural Education, co-authored with William Sims, continues to be in demand several years after it was published.
For further information on Martin University, visit www.martin.edu.
MEDIA NOTE:
To download high resolution versions of the candidates' photos, visit our smugmug site. http://shermco.smugmug.com/gallery/3474933#1954498674