Debra Saunders-White (January 8, 1957 – November 26, 2016) was the eleventh chancellor of

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from b ...

. She assumed office on June 1, 2013, and was the first woman to hold the permanent position of chancellor at NCCU. She was previously Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs at the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

Early life and education

Saunders-White was born in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree in history from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1979 and a master of business administration from the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...

in 1993. Saunders-White received her doctorate in higher education administration from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

in 2004.

Career

Saunders-White worked at IBM from 1979 to 1994, first as a systems engineer and then in marketing. She taught college preparatory mathematics at St. George's School in

Newport, RI Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

from 1994 to 1998 and joined

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

in Hampton, VA as the assistant provost of technology in 1999. She built the University's first information technology organization, and in turn Hampton University was named one of the “most wired universities” by Forbes Magazine and the Princeton Review. In 2005, she was promoted as vice president for technology and chief information officer. In 2006, Saunders-White left Hampton University to become the vice chancellor of Information Technology at the

University of North Carolina Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW or UNC Wilmington) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and enrolls 17,499 undergraduate and graduate students eac ...

. During her time at UNCW, she also served in the Office of Institutional Diversity as the interim associate provost and the chief diversity officer. In May 2011, Saunders-White began serving as deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs in the Department of Education. She left in 2013 after being appointed as the 11th chancellor of North Carolina Central University. NCCU is a public historically black university located in

Durham, NC Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th-mos ...

. Saunders-White began at NCCU on June 1, 2013 and was formally installed on Friday April 4, 2014. Saunders-White was a member of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

sorority. Saunders-White died on November 26, 2016 from complications of

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include spr ...

at the age of 59.

References

1957 births 2016 deaths Deaths from kidney cancer IBM employees North Carolina Central University faculty Politicians from Hampton, Virginia United States Department of Education officials {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub