Dr. Michelle R. Howard-Vital, interim chancellor of Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, N.C., has been selected to serve as the next president of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) Board of Governors made the selection today at the conclusion of a national search. Dr. Howard-Vital will begin her tenure at Cheyney on July 30. She will replace Mr. Wallace C. Arnold, who has served as the University’s interim president since January 2004.

Dr. Howard-Vital was named interim chancellor at Winston-Salem in July 2006. Previously, she was associate vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She also spent two years at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, as dean of University College and associate vice president for academic programs. She began her academic career in 1975 as an English instructor at Central YMCA Community College in Chicago.

“Dr. Howard-Vital has had a long, distinguished career in higher education,” said Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth M. Jarin. “The experience she brings to Cheyney will be invaluable as she prepares to lead the University into the future.”

PASSHE Chancellor Dr. Judy G. Hample also cited Dr. Howard-Vital’s varied experiences as a teacher and administrator, calling her “a talented leader who will serve both Cheyney University and the Commonwealth well.”

“With 30 years in higher education, Dr. Howard-Vital is well-suited to lead America’s oldest historically black institution of higher education,” said Robert W. Bogle, chairman of Cheyney University’s Council of Trustees. “Her academic experience and distinguished service to education make her ideal to guide Cheyney University into the future.”

Dr. Howard-Vital said she is looking forward to assuming the Cheyney presidency.

“We look forward to working with the faculty, staff and students to support the teaching-learning environment at Cheyney University,” she said. “I think you will see in the next three years that this university will not only demonstrate that it's preparing leaders for the 21st century, but it will continue to demonstrate the great legacy of its past.”

As interim chancellor at Winston-Salem State, Dr. Howard-Vital is responsible for providing overall leadership to the 5,600-student public university. She also assists in economic development efforts in the region by serving as the University’s representative on numerous county and city organizations.

Dr. Howard-Vital earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in English education from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

While at Central YMCA Community College, Dr. Howard-Vital taught courses in composition, rhetoric, research writing and black literature. She also served as the college’s coordinator of prior learning and director of the College Without Walls program during her six-year tenure. She was named project coordinator of the early outreach program at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1981, a position she held for three years.

Dr. Howard-Vital was named dean of adult and continuing education of Loop College, now Harold Washington College, in Chicago in 1984, and, two years later, dean of continuing education and non-traditional programs at Chicago State University. She also served as an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction during her four years at Chicago State.

She moved to Edinboro University in 1991, spending two years there before being named vice chancellor for public service and continuing studies and associate provost at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, a position she remained in for 10 years. In that position she designed numerous non-credit, instructional programs and corporate training programs to meet specific community needs. She also led the Digital Communities Project, an experiment in international distance education with Japanese universities.

As an associate vice president at UNC-Chapel Hill, Dr. Howard-Vital provided leadership for postsecondary, nonpublic institutions seeking licensure to offer degree programs in North Carolina. She also coordinated the review of undergraduate degree programs at 16 University of North Carolina campuses and served as the state coordinator for the Academic Common Market program. She served as the liaison for K-16 efforts as a member of the North Carolina State Board of Education and reviewed doctoral programs in appropriate disciplines.

Dr. Howard-Vital has participated in state, regional and national meetings and conferences and has published dozens of articles primarily related to teaching and learning. She served as the principal or co-principal investigator on numerous grants while at UNC-Wilmington, and, in 2001, received the Million Dollar Club award for bringing in more than $1 million in grants to the University.

She is a member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Educational Research Association, Association of Black Women in Higher Education, American Association of Higher Education and the National University Continuing Education Association. She also serves on the Specialty Studies Board of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). She has served on such civic and community organizations as the Cape Fear American Red Cross, Cape Fear United Way and the Wilmington Community Coalition.

Founded in 1837, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania enrolls approximately 1,550 students, including about 160 graduate students. It offers 37 undergraduate and nine graduate degree programs and employs about 115 full- and part-time faculty.

With more than 109,000 students, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Approximately 405,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.