GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Bennett College Board of Trustees has named Dr. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins as the school’s 18th president, according to a press release.
She has served as interim president since August 2016, when Rosalind Fuse-Hall resigned.
Dawkins arrived at Bennett College in December 2015 as the school’s provost after serving as interim president at Cheyney University in Pennsylvania. She has also worked at Dillard University in New Orleans and Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte.
“The Bennett College Board of Trustees is pleased with Dr. Dawkins’ performance during the period in which she served as interim president,” said Board of Trustees Chairwoman Dr. Gladys Ashe Robinson. “She has developed a genuine relationship with students, faculty, staff and alumnae and is reaching into the religious, civic and philanthropic community to engage them in Bennett’s present and future sustainability. We are confident that Dr. Dawkins, along with the support of trustees, will reenergize, reorganize and rebrand Bennett for future success.”
As president, Dawkins’ goals are to: increase enrolment and retention; strengthen academic offerings; increase funding and strengthen the accreditation status. She also must revise, implement and assess the school’s strategic plan.
“I am extremely honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve as president of such an esteemed institution,” Dr. Dawkins said in the release.
As interim president, Dawkins has worked to extend Bennett’s reputation internationally and will travel to South Africa later this month to continue that effort.
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