KAPPA NEWS
Dr. Anthony L. Jenkins: President of West Virginia State University
the perspective of shrinking resources and greater accountability. Despite these challenges, the aforementioned attributes along with vision have been the cornerstone of my success as a president. Dr. Jenkins discussed the importance of listening as the key to forming his vision.. “Thereafter, we formulated our vision. A vision to transform West Virginia State University (WVSU) into a premier regional research university that is known nationally for its quality education, innovative teaching and experiential learning. During my time as president the state of West Virginia has cut my appropriation funding by over 15 percent. Despite the financial gutting of higher education by state legislators, we at WVSU were going to strengthen our resolve and embrace the challenges we faced, because I was optimist that collectively we could solved them. After becoming president of West Virginia State University (WVSU) I expressed to my campus community that size nor location would ever dictate our level of success. We adopted the mantra that Our pace would be brisk, and our
trajectory is north. And with that we went to work.
Since taking the leadership of WVSU in 2016, enrollment, ranking, research funding and fundraising have all increased. (e.g., No. 2 best public college or university in the state of West Virginia, College Choice recognized the University as the 14 th best Historically Black College or University in the entire country, among small colleges and universities, 3 rd ranked Best Biology Degree program, 3 rd ranked Best Business Administration Degree program, 9 th ranked most affordable institutions of higher education in the entire country. “It is important to note that every constituent affiliated with WVSU played a major role in helping us achieve these milestones. Our students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends, all committed themselves in ways that humbled and inspired me.” President Jenkins inherited a year over year $1.4 million a year deficit. With the appropriate controls now firmly established, the university booked a surplus last year.
Dr. Anthony L. Jenkins is the 11 th President of West Virginia State University, From his perspective, “The role of a university president is as demanding as it is exciting. Today’s HBCU presidents must have a greater understanding of and involvement in student success and engagement, actively engage on social media, and tirelessly serve as the institution’s number one cheerleader. The
growing expectations of an HBCU president is that you must be all things to all people; and while that is not possible, what has fostered my ability to build in-roads is an authentic approach to engage, lead, galvanize, challenge, support, uplift, empower, create buy-in, and excite my constituents. Moreover, I understood entering this role that everything I did would be analyzed through
In discussing fundraising, Dr. Jenkins stated,
Publishing achievement for 105 years
THE JOURNAL 84 TH GRAND CHAPTER MEETING ISSUE | 45
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker