Daria J. Willis is an American academic administrator and historian. She is the president of

Howard Community College Howard Community College (HCC or Howard CC) is a public community college in Columbia, Maryland. It offers classes for credit in more than 100 programs, non-credit classes, and workforce development programs. In addition to the main campus in C ...

. Willis was president of

Everett Community College Everett Community College (EvCC) is a public community college in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 19,000 students every year at locations throughout Snohomish County, Washington, with most students and faculty at the main campus in E ...

from 2019 to 2021. She is the first African American president at both institutions. Willis was an assistant professor of history in the Lone Star College System.

Education

Willis is from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. When she was six, her father died from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. She completed high school in three years. Willis completed a bachelor's in African American studies and a master's degree in applied social science at Florida A&M University. She earned a Ph.D. in history from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. Her 2012 dissertation about Adella Hunt was titled ''The life and times of Adella Hunt Logan: Educator, mother, wife, and suffragist, 1863–1915''. Maxine D. Jones was Willis' doctoral advisor.

Career

Willis was an adjunct professor of history at

Tallahassee Community College Tallahassee Community College (TCC) is a public community college in Tallahassee, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. As of fall 2017, TCC reported 24,639 stu ...

. With the Lone Star College System, she was an assistant professor of history, faculty senate president, department chairwoman, and executive dean of centers. Willis was dean of academic studies at Lee College. Willis joined the faculty at

Onondaga Community College Onondaga Community College (OCC) is a public community college that serves Onondaga County, New York, at two campuses. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History The college was founded in 1961 and began instruction ...

in July 2016. In Onondaga, she was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. In 2018, Willis received a 40 under 40 award from the American Association for Women in Community Colleges. She chaired the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

education committee. On July 1, 2019, Willis became president of

, succeeding Dave Beyer. She was the institution's first African American president. On November 5, 2021, Willis was announced as the incoming president of

(HCC). She succeeded Kathleen Hetherington and interim president Lynn Coleman on January 10, 2022. Willis is the first African American to hold this position at HCC.

Personal life

Willis had a daughter when she was 19. At the age of 21, she divorced her first husband. Willis is married to Isiah David Brown. They met in Tallahassee, FL. Willis has two daughters and a son.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Daria Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) People from Atlanta 21st-century American historians Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Women heads of universities and colleges African-American historians African-American women academic administrators Onondaga Community College faculty 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century African-American writers Florida A&M University alumni Florida State University alumni 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics