Jalon HillN.C. Central University commemorated the installment of its 12th chancellor, Dr. Johnson O. Akinleye, with a block party on Tuesday, September 26.
Local residents, current students, staff and NCCU alumni were in attendance at the Brant Street Plaza to help celebrate the new chancellor. They were entertained with music from NCCU’s Sound Machine and both the vocal and instrumental Jazz Ensembles with catering supplied NCCU Dining Services and a selection of local restaurants.
Prior to NCCU, Johnson held positions at other universities, including the Associate Vice Chancellorship for both Academic Programs and External Programs for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) for six and a half years. He also served as Interim Dean of UNCW’s College of Health and Human Services during a transitional period. He held these positions for six-and-a-half years before obtaining the positions of Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at NCCU in 2014.
Johnson was appointed as Acting Chancellor after the untimely death of NCCU’s 11th chancellor Dr. Debra Saunders-White. He held this role for five months until finally being elected to the position on a permanent basis.
In just a short time, Akinleye has already made his mark on the university, ushering in new programs like the Office of e-Learning and the Office of Professional Development.
Even though he has already hit the ground running, many are excited to see what Johnson does next for NCCU.
“The Board of Trustees could not have made a better choice,” Durham Mayor Pro Tempore Cora Cole-McFadden said. “The students love him and Durham loves him too.”
His “Eagle Promise” platform intends to ensure that the university will provide students with the education and tools necessary to graduate in four years or fewer under his leadership.
Despite enrolling the largest number of freshman and transfer students in NCCU history this academic year, Akinleye is confident that his promise will be kept.
“(NCCU) is like an ocean liner,” Akinleye said during his speech at the event. “It takes a lot to move us, but we are still moving.”
