Tony Allen is an American academic administrator working as the president of the

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

since 2020.

Early life and education

Allen was born to R. Leatha Allen. He moved to Delaware at the age of 3. Allen completed an undergraduate degree in political science at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

. In March 1991, he was one of 200 black student activists who participated in a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

at Smith Hall. Allen obtained a

Bachelor of Arts 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 years ...

degree in political science in 1993 and a

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 urban affairs & public policy from the University of Delaware, as well as a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

from Baruch College at the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

Career

After graduating from college, Allen worked for the Wilmington cluster against substance abuse at the Edgemoor community center. In March 1994, he joined the Wilmington chapter of

Public Allies Public Allies is an American nonprofit organization that operates an AmeriCorps program and is dedicated to young-adult leadership development. Its mission is to create a just and equitable society and the diverse leadership to sustain it. Hist ...

. A year later, Allen succeeded Suzanne Sysko as the executive director. At this time, he was 25 and over saw the nonprofit organization's $300,000 annual budget. In 1996, Allen became the first national urban fellow from Delaware. During this time, he worked a special assistant at the

William Penn Foundation The William Penn Foundation is a grant-making foundation established in 1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by businessman Otto Haas and his wife Phoebe, and initially called the Phoebe Waterman Foundation. It strives to improve "the quality of ...

where he created financial forecasts of the Philadelphia family centers program. He took courses in public administration at Baruch College and was valedictorian of his national urban fellow class. Allen oversaw public education reform initiatives for the Delaware school system. Allen was the managing director of corporate reputation at the

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...

. He cofounded the nonprofit organization, the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League. In July 2017, Allen became the provost and executive vice president of the

. He became president in 2020. In 2021, he was appointed by U.S. president Joe Biden as the chair to the president's board of advisors on

historically black colleges and 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. ...

Personal life

Allen is the father of four children with his life partner Tara Anderson, who has been described as "his high school sweetheart".

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Tony Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Delaware State University faculty Heads of universities and colleges in the United States African-American academic administrators University of Delaware alumni Baruch College alumni American nonprofit executives 21st-century American businesspeople African-American company founders