CHARLOTTE, N.C. / April 15, 2020 - Johnson C. Smith University announces the appointment of Dr. Davida Loren Haywood as vice president for Student Affairs (VPSA). Haywood, a 1998 graduate of Johnson C. Smith University, was selected after an extensive national search. As VPSA, she will be the chief officer responsible for developing a comprehensive program of services for traditional, non-traditional and graduate students in areas including housing and residential life, student engagement, counseling, leadership development, health, and student conduct. Haywood currently serves as vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at Alabama State University, a medium-sized HBCU in Montgomery, Ala., offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. She will begin her tenure at JCSU on July 1, 2020.
Haywood has nearly 22 years of administrative experience in the areas of admissions and recruitment, enrollment management, student activities, multicultural affairs, and student affairs. In addition, she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on leadership and service-learning, diversity and case studies in higher education. Her research interests, papers and presentations often focus on women of color and their participation in higher education; organizational, administrative and executive leadership; critical race feminism; racial and gender identity development; and service-learning.
JCSU President Clarence D. Armbrister said Haywood’s commitment to creating a holistic, relevant and transformative student experience made her the ideal administrator to lead student affairs at JCSU. “Dr. Haywood brings extensive experience as a leader in higher education, and I am excited to welcome her home to her alma mater as our new vice president for Student Affairs,” Armbrister said. “She has demonstrated a passion for students and has a strong track record of fostering an environment that allows students to grow intellectually, socially, culturally and spiritually so they reach their highest potential. I look forward to Dr. Haywood bringing her expertise and enthusiasm to JCSU as she works with her team and her colleagues to enhance the experience of all students at JCSU, including our non-traditional and graduate students. I’m confident her leadership, innovation and dedication will raise the bar and result in a vibrant campus experience that is among the best at historically Black universities.”
In 2016, Haywood was selected as a Program Fellow by the Higher Education Leadership Foundation. Similarly, she received certificates in Leadership and Advocacy (Advancing to the Presidency-American Council on Education) and Executive Leadership (On the Road to the Presidency-Hampton University), in fall 2017. She is an inaugural cohort member of the Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Aspiring Leaders program sponsored by the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions.
Haywood earned a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration (summa cum laude) from Johnson C. Smith University as well as a master of arts degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Higher Education from The Ohio State University. Her dissertation, "(Re)inventing in the 'dark': African American women and presidential leadership," won the William E. Loadman Most Outstanding Dissertation Award from the School of Educational Policy and Leadership in 2010.
When not meeting the needs of her students, she is just “Mommy,” to two, very energetic sons: Kenneth, Jr. and Kole Culbreth.
