According to an article reported by the Chicago Tribune, Northeastern Illinois University will offer Dr. Gloria J. Gibson the office of its presidency. She would be the first African American woman to hold the office in the university’s history. Gibson, Morgan State University’s provost and senior vice president, was chosen from four finalists this week and, according to reports, she is set to officially begin her term June 1.
Dr. Gloria J. Gibson would be the first African American woman to serve as president for Northeastern Illinois University. (Courtesy Photo)
Gibson received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville as well as a doctorate in folklore from Indiana University.
She has held teaching and administrative roles at Arkansas State University, Indiana University, and the University of Northern Iowa, where she temporarily took on the role of president in 2011. She has held the position of Morgan State’s provost since 2015. David Wilson, president of Morgan, tells the AFRO he is confident that Gibson will do exceedingly well.
“Dr. Gibson has been an invaluable addition to our leadership at Morgan. In her three years as provost, she provided the leadership to reform our tenure and promotion policies and to put in place numerous online degree programs,” Wilson said, “While we will miss her at Morgan, I am extremely happy that she is getting an opportunity to provide leadership at a higher level and know that she will be successful in this new role.”
Northeastern’s board of trustees will vote on Gibson’s contract in the coming weeks. Gibson’s predecessor and interim president, Richard J. Helldobler, is set to become president of William Paterson University in New Jersey upon his departure.
Gibson’s three contenders for the role included Sukhwant Jahj, vice provost for academic innovation and student success at Portland State University in Oregon; Carlos Medina, vice chancellor and chief diversity officer at State University of New York; and Maria Guarjardo, deputy vice president at Soka University in Tokyo.