Walter Kimbrough (born ) is an American academic administrator who has served as the 7th president of

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

since 2012. Kimbrough was previously the president of

Philander Smith College Philander Smith College is a private historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). Philander Smith College is accredited by ...

from 2004 to 2012.

Early life and education

Kimbrough was born in

Atlanta, Georgia 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 498,7 ...

. He is the son of Rev. Walter Kimbrough, Sr. and Marjorie Kimbrough. He attended local public schools and graduated as salutatorian from Benjamin Elijah Mays High School in 1985. He graduated from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, where he became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, an African-American fraternity. He earned a master's degree from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

and a PhD in higher education from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

Career

He is known for his work 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. ...

and on the college experience of African-American men. Kimbrough describes membership in Alpha Phi Alpha as a key to helping him "survive" his years as a black student at the University of Georgia, which has a white-majority student body. He has written about the role of black fraternities and sororities, and became a specialist in student affairs. The ''

Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to r ...

'' describes Kimbrough's book ''Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities'', as "the go-to book on the culture of black fraternities and sororities." He has worked in student affairs at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

, Georgia State University,

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

, and was appointed at the age of 32 as Vice President of Student Affairs at

Albany State University Albany State University is a public historically black university in Albany, Georgia. In 2017, Darton State College and Albany State University consolidated to become one university under the University System of Georgia (USG). Albany State U ...

in 2000. In 2004 he was selected as President of

, serving into 2012. That year, he started as President of

, where he continues to serve.

Personal life

Kimbrough married attorney Adria Nobles and they have two children together.

Honors and awards

*Named as 1994 New Professional of the Year by the Association of Fraternity Advisors"Walter M. Kimbrough"
Office of the President, Dillard University *Selected in 2001 as a Nissan-ETS HBCU Fellow. *In 2009, he was named by ''Diverse Issues in Higher Education'' as one of '25 To Watch'. *In 2010, ''

Ebony Magazine ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...

'' included him on its 'Power 100 list' of the "doers and influencers in the African-American community" *In February 2013, he was named to

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

/ TheGrio.com's "100 African Americans making history today"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimbrough, Walter Living people 1960s births People from Atlanta University of Georgia alumni Miami University alumni Georgia State University alumni Dillard University 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics Heads of universities and colleges in the United States 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics