INSTITUTE, W.Va. — West Virginia State University welcomed the first of three finalists for its president position to campus on Monday.
Dr. Melva Williams, the vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management at Southern University at Shreveport went through forums with various constituent groups at the James C. Wilson University Union on campus.
Speaking during a University Faculty Forum, Williams called the role of West Virginia State (WVSU) as ‘The Dream Management Factory.’
“We are not always knowledgeable about what we really, really want to do. That is where we have faculty, staff, everyone in the entire ecosystem that can help us manage our dreams along the way,” she said.
Williams formerly worked in Academic Affairs in senior leadership as the associate dean of the college at Centenary College of Louisiana. Additionally, she has also served in higher education administration at Grambling State University and the Southern University System where she was the first chief of staff managing five campuses and over 15,000 students within the state of Louisiana.
While at the Southern University System, she held the role of assistant vice president for academic and student affairs, WVSU noted.
During the forum, Williams said academic affairs is a point of light for WVSU. She laid out other ‘points of light’ during the forum including the potential expansion of programs. She said that when she was asked about creating a vision for WVSU, one of the first things she did was look at the in-demand jobs in West Virginia and how it compares to programs being offered.
“My initial research shows that we don’t have enough majors at West Virginia State University. We need more, it is time for us to expand, it is time for us to do more. That is a point of light for us,” Williams said.
Other fundamental beliefs shared by Williams included shared governance. She said she believes in a structure and process for faculty, staff, administration, boards, and students to develop policy and decision making.
“I do have a good idea once in a while but I am not the single proprietor of those good ideas,” Williams said.
“It takes every single person that is invested in this institution to share their ideas through these various platforms, committees and things that we do to ensure the institution moves forward in a way that is innovative.”
READ: Williams’ complete bio on WVSU site
Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Grambling State University and her master’s degree in public administration, also from Grambling State. She earned a doctorate degree in higher education from Jackson State University.
She is looking to become the 13th president in West Virginia State University (WVSU) history. The other two finalists include Ericke S. Cage, the current interim president of WVSU and Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Jr., the chief academic officer and provost for the University of the District of Columbia.
Each candidate will follow the same schedule that includes a University Staff Forum from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., University Faculty Forum from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., University Student Forum from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Kanawha Valley Community, Legislative, Foundation Board, Board of Visitors, Community Forum from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and a ‘W’ Club/Alumni Forum from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Cage has been the interim president of WVSU since Sept. 2021. He was previously serving as the university’s chief operating officer and managing the day-to-day operations of the university since the former president, Nicole Pride, resigned on July 30.