Tashni-Ann Dubroy (nee Coote; born c. 1981) is a Jamaican academic and university administrator in the United States. She has been executive vice-president and

chief operations officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

(COO) of

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

since 2017, having previously served as president of

Shaw University Shaw University is a private Baptist historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in ...

from 2015 to 2017.

Early life

Tashni-Ann Dubroy was born in

Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville is the capital and largest town in the parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of the total population w ...

, the daughter of Emerson and Greta Coote. She was one of six siblings.Shaw University Introduces Dr. Tashni Dubroy as President
Shaw University, 1 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2017. Dubroy grew up in

May Pen May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river (Jamaica's longest), and is a major market centre for the Parish. The population was 61,548 at the 2011 cens ...

, attending

Glenmuir High School Glenmuir High School (GHS) is a Jamaican secondary school located in May Pen, Clarendon Parish, Jamaica. It is among the top performing secondary schools in the country. In 2011 it was among the top 3 preferred schools for students who sat the G ...

. She later moved to the capital Kingston to attend

Holy Childhood High Holy Childhood High School is a Catholic school in Kingston, Jamaica. It is a well-ranked all-girls school for academics and sports. Pupils of the institution go on to careers in, among other areas, law, business, education, medicine and the ar ...

and

Wolmer's Girls' School Wolmer's Schools in Kingston, Jamaica, consist of Wolmer's Pre-School, Wolmer's Preparatory School and two high schools: Wolmer's Trust High School For Girls and Wolmer's Trust High School for Boys. While acknowledged as separate institutions, ea ...

.Jamaican Lands Big Role At Howard University
''

The Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', 10 July 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017. Dubroy was accepted into the

University of West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

, but for family, reasons chose to move to the United States at the age of 18 to attend

Kingsborough Community College Kingsborough Community College (KBCC) is a public community college in Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and the only community college in Brooklyn.Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. She was the class

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

in 2000, and subsequently pursued further studies at

(

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in chemistry, 2002),

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

(

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in chemistry, 2007), and

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

(

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in marketing, 2010). Dubroy's first career was as a research scientist at

BASF BASF Societas Europaea, SE () is a German multinational corporation, multinational chemical company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The ...

. She was hired as a global technology analyst within the

polyolefin A polyolefin is a type of polymer with the general formula (CH2CHR)n where R is an alkyl group. They are usually derived from a small set of simple olefins (alkenes). Dominant in a commercial sense are polyethylene and polypropylene. More speciali ...

catalysts market sector, and later became a chemical procurement manager.

Academia

Shaw University

After two years at BASF, Dubroy joined

– in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

– as an associate professor in chemistry. She eventually became chair of the university's Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and also served as a special assistant to the university president with responsibility for

process optimization Process optimization is the discipline of adjusting a process so as to optimize (make the best or most effective use of) some specified set of parameters without violating some constraint. The most common goals are minimizing cost and maximizing ...

. In June 2015, the board of trustees announced that Dubroy would be replacing Gaddis Faulcon as university president. Aged 34 at the time, she became the second-youngest president in the university's history and the third woman to hold the post. In its first year, the Dubroy Administration effectively reversed six consecutive years of enrollment declines and yielded a 15 percent increase of new and returning students in 2015. In 2016, the administration closed a $4 million fundraising gap which included an institutional record $630,000 raised during Shaw’s annual homecoming weekend, and earned positive change in net assets to counteract a two-year loss – all of which earned her honors as 2017 CEO of the Year in the Triangle region. She was named to the 40 Under 40: Excellence in Leadership list by the Triangle Business Journal.

Howard University

In July 2017, it was announced that Dubroy was resigning from Shaw University to become executive vice-president (EVP) and

(COO) at

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

She began her appointment in October 2017, working under university president Wayne Frederick. Her portfolio includes oversight of the university's divisions of human resources, business auxiliary, enterprise technology, facilities and real estate management, environmental and emergency management, public safety and emergency management, and undergraduate admissions. Under her leadership, Howard University improved its financial aid standing with the Department of Education, being removed from Heightened Cash Monitoring status in 2019. She has served as lead on several critical infrastructure recovery efforts, including the restoration of steam plant functionality following a historic winter storm in 2018 and a ransomware attack in 2021. In 2021, Dubroy was named among the Washington Business Journal's 'Women Who Mean Business' in the Washington-Metropolitan area. In 2022, the university announced a historic $785 million construction and real estate acquisition initiative, the largest in Howard's history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubroy, Tashni-Ann 1980s births Jamaican expatriates in the United States Shaw University alumni North Carolina State University alumni Rutgers University alumni Shaw University faculty Howard University faculty Jamaican women academics Heads of universities and colleges in the United States People from Mandeville, Jamaica Women heads of universities and colleges American women chemists Jamaican women chemists Jamaican academic administrators Living people Jamaican chemists