Roslyn Clark Artis (born June 16, 1970) is the 14th president of

Benedict College Benedict College is a private historically black college in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded to offer majors in many disciplines across the liberal arts ...

and the first woman to hold the position. She holds the additional distinction of being the first female president of

Florida Memorial University Florida Memorial University is a private historically black university in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is a member of the United Negro College Fund and historically related to Baptists although it claims a focus on broader Christianity. History ...

. She is also educational advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, serves on the board of directors of the

United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities ...

and the

Council of Independent Colleges The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association in the United States of more than 650 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities and more than 100 higher education affiliates and organizations that work together to strengthen ...

, and serves as co-chair for the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

of the Midlands Campaign.

Early life

Artis was born in Springfield, Massachusetts to Robert M. Clark and Christine E. Clark and was raised in southern

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. She graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1988.

Education

Artis received a scholarship to attend

West Virginia State University West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a public historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute, it is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges and universities ...

, earning a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

in 1991. She then earned her Juris Doctor from

West Virginia University College of Law The West Virginia University College of Law is the professional school for the study of law at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The law school was established in 1878 as the first professional school in the s ...

and her doctorate in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. She holds a Certificate of Fundraising Management from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

and a Certificate of Mastery in Prior Learning Assessment from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

Career

Artis practiced law for ten years with the firms Brown & Levicoff PLLC and The Wooton Law Firm. When a friend asked her to teach courses as an adjunct professor, Artis acquiesced despite lack of experience in education. She found her passion in the field and returned to school to earn a doctorate so as to pursue the path in-depth and full-time. Leaving behind six years part-time classroom teaching, Artis graduated to the position of director of

Mountain State University Mountain State University (MSU) was a private university in Beckley, West Virginia. It closed in 2013. It was formerly named Beckley College and then The College of West Virginia. Its Beckley campus is now occupied by West Virginia University ...

's legal studies program. Next, she served as Senior Academic Officer for Distance Education, a post in which she oversaw the university's independent study and online programs. She also managed the school's Orlando, Florida and Center Township, Pennsylvania campuses. Artis was named chief academic officer at

in September 2010, a post in which she was responsible for "all curricular and programmatic academic decisions regardless of the campus or modality." Artis was serving as provost at

in 2012, a position she began in 2011, when the university lost its accreditation. The following year, Artis transitioned to the position of president of Florida Memorial College. There, she oversaw the implementation of new technology, construction of new facilities, and resource development in STEM,

cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...

, and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

. In 2017, Artis assumed the position of president at

, where she lowered tuition by 26% and launched the HBCU Sustainability Summit. In 2020, Artis helped open Benedict College's Women’s Business Center, making the college one of only two

historically black universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to house a business center dedicated to advancing women in business.

Personal life

Artis is married to Selby Artis, a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer, businessman, and contractor with the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

. The couple has three children, Christopher, Jayden, and Jocelyn.

Controversies

In 2017, while applying for the position of President at Jackson State University, several noteworthy past incidents came to light. * During her tenure at the now defunct

, Artis, along with many other school leaders, were sued in 2010 for allegedly attempting to cover-up the school's accreditation issues and ultimately firing one professor without cause after said professor told her nursing students about the issues. A Federal complaint made by a student at the time alleged that Artis was in the room but stood by and watched as students were told that if the sought legal help, they wouldn't graduate. * During her tenure as interim, and later, President of Florida Memorial University, Artis reduced the University's budget deficit from $3 million to $1 million, by freezing salaries, firing roughly a dozen employees including two Vice Presidents, and the temporary suspension of matching 401(k) contributions In 2019, during her current tenure as President of Benedict College, the school was placed on Probation with Good Cause by the accreditation board SACSCOC after struggling to overcome years of financial instability (prior to Artis' arrival) and failing to meet its requirements on financial responsibility. The school was released from Probation and restored to good standing a year later.

Awards and recognition

*In 2018, HBCU Digest named Artis “Female HBCU President of the Year” https://thetandd.com/news/local/benedict-s-artis-named-top-female-president/article_327026e3-8f4c-57f6-8e06-2201af54fcd8.html *In 2019, Artis was named to Diverse Issues in Higher Education’s “Top 35 Leading Women in Higher Education” https://uncf.org/news/diverse-issues-in-higher-education-names-uncf-leaders-among-its-top-35-women-in-higher-education *In 2019, 100 Black Men of America, Inc. named Artis "2021 Educator of the Year” *In 2020, Artis was named “President of the Year” by Higher Ed Dive for her leadership in navigating the unprecedented challenges of 2020 https://www.highereddive.com/news/president-of-year-roslyn-clark-artis-benedict-college-2020/588712/ *In 2018, the

South Carolina State Senate The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the sam ...

honored Artis for her "significant contributions as the first female president of two collegiate institutions in the United States." *In 2008, the West Virginia Department of Education honored Artis for her contributions to human and civil rights and scholarship. *In 2000, the United States Congressional Black Caucus recognized Artis as “A Leader in the Making." *In 1999,

President Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again f ...

named Artis one of “1,000 Points of Light” in communities across the country for public service.

Media appearances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Artis, Roslyn Clark Women heads of universities and colleges American academic administrators African-American businesspeople 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers American lawyers DePaul University alumni West Virginia State University alumni Vanderbilt University alumni West Virginia University College of Law alumni Living people 1970 births People from Springfield, Massachusetts People from West Virginia Mountain State University people