Special to South Florida Times
After extending its search for a new president by several months, the Board of Trustees of Miami Gardens-based Florida Memorial University has picked three finalists for the job.
They are Curtis B. Charles, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, N.C.; Roslyn Clark Artis, executive vice president for academic affairs at Mountain State University in Beckley, W.Va.; and Henry Lewis III, dean and professor in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Florida A&M University.
“We carefully deliberated over an extended period of time to ensure that we select the right candidates from which to choose during this critical time in the institution’s history,” said Charles W. George, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “The quality of the candidates is remarkable and we look forward to offering one individual the opportunity to lead the institution in fundraising, advancement and educational initiatives by the end of this year.”
At Fayetteville State, Charles is responsible for institutional effectiveness with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the university-wide assessment initiative to benchmark students’ learning outcomes in all academic programs. He also manages specialized degree accreditations, Title III Grants, economic transformation and outreach and international education programs.
He received a doctor of philosophy in higher education administrative leadership from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md., master of science in architectural studies in building technology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor of architecture from Howard University in
Washington, D.C.
Artis, an attorney, supervises all academic programs, academic deans, grant writing and alumni development at Mountain State which she joined in 2003 as the senior academic officer for distance education. She is also president of the Mountain State University Foundation, managing all university fundraising efforts and annual budgets totaling $30 million.
She received a doctor of jurisprudence from West Virginia University College of Law, a doctor of education in higher education leadership and policy from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and a bachelor of arts in political science from West Virginia State University.
Lewis is a former interim president of FAMU and has also served as dean of the Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He is past president of the Minority Health Professions Foundation and the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools. Under his leadership, the two organizations secured more than $100 million in support of programs improving the quality of education and availability of health care to underserved communities.
Lewis is former chairman of the board of the Florida Education Fund, the nation’s largest producer of African-American Ph.D.’s. After graduating from FAMU with a bachelor of science in pharmacy from the program where he now serves as dean, he earned a doctor of pharmacy from Mercer University
Southern School of Pharmacy in Atlanta and completed his post-doctoral studies at Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management.
The next president will take over from Sandra T. Thompson, who was made acting president after the departure of Karl S. Wright in August 2009.
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