NEW ORLEANS — Dr. Rochelle Ford announced that Dr. Charles Prince, Dr. Ceeon D. Quiett Smith and Victoria Alexis will join the Dillard University president’s cabinet. The cabinet consists of 12 Dillard University senior leaders who support and advise the president on university matters, operations and the implementation of strategic goals.
In addition, Constance Cannon Fraizer and Dr. Roland Bullard will begin serving as special assistants to the president. Frazier will co-lead the provost search with Dr. Lovell Agwaramgbo, professor and chair of the School of STEM, and assist with marketing communications and developing new revenue streams. Bullard will help develop globalization efforts in collaboration with cabinet members.
“I appreciate the institutional knowledge that Dr. Bullard provided during my first year as president. His international travel and engagement with the Melton Foundation as a board member have prepared him well for this special assignment,” said Ford.
Smith will be responsible for the establishment of the new Office of Student Success and Operations. It will include the current student success division, athletics and the chaplain. The focus will be on the implementation of Ford’s vision for a living, learning, and serving “communiversity.” The new office will spearhead efforts and funding that advance healthy, safe, and innovative communities.
“In my opinion, no other institution is better positioned to drive transformation in Gentilly, and around the world, than Dillard University,” said Smith, who was raised in the nearby Pontchartrain Park neighborhood. “It’s in the Bleu Devils’ DNA!”
Smith is the Cleo Fields Endowed Professor/Chair of the Department of Mass Communication at Grambling State University. She is currently serving as an exchange detail in the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, supporting the Division of Civil Rights with strategy development and program implementation efforts to enhance and increase civil rights compliance activities specific to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Implementation, with a focus on the technical assistance and contract equity for Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
As one of the nation’s leading experts in crisis and risk management, Smith is the first African American to earn a doctoral degree from the Arizona State University Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She has been recognized by IE Magazine and Marquis Who’s Who as an emerging leader and selected as a Presidential Vocational Fellow for the Council of Independent Colleges.
“Dr. Smith brings a wealth of experience in higher education by working with leading HBCUs, private entities, and the federal government. We look forward to her strategic activation of bringing the communiversity model to reality,”said Ford.
Smith holds memberships with the HBCU Emergency Management Workforce Consortium, FEMA Region 6 Higher Ed Collaborative, Southwest Education Council for Journalism & Mass Communication Association, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Links Inc.
Since January 2023, Prince has been responsible for Dillard’s strategic planning process, the UNCF transformation project, and leading student retention efforts as chief transformation and sustainability officer.
“I appreciate the support the campus has provided me in the last six months. I look forward to the expanded role to serve the DU community,” he said.
