Dr Artis
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OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Benedict College’s first female President paves the way for others

Dr. Artis says she’s chosen to spend her career in small, private institutions.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — When Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis grew up in southern West Virginia she didn’t see many people who looked like her. She says her community makeup was only 3 percent minority.

Her education at West Virginia State College was the beginning of her understanding what it meant to be a part of an HBCU (Historically Black College and University) family. She says seeing people who looked like her was transformative in her life and instilled in her a desire to be someone who could be a positive impact on live.

HBCUs were founded as a result of exclusion and now that those doors are open some question why these institutions are necessary. Dr. Artis says her appointment to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity will add perspective to the organization. There are only 101 HBCUs in the country, and Artis says when it comes to her voice being at the table on a local and national scale she believes it’s critical for her to be there. “We can’t amplify the diversity unless all of the voices are at the table and I’m honored to be that voice,” she says.

Dr. Artis is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she earned a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership and Policy. She also holds a juris doctorate from West Virginia University College of Law, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from her sister HBCU, West Virginia State University.

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