Johnson O. Akinleye, chancellor of North Carolina Central University in Durham, has announced he will step down at the end of the academic year. He was appointed the twelfth chancellor of North Carolina Central University on June 26, 2017.
Akinleye has delivered transformational leadership to NCCU during his tenure, steering the institution to achieve records in enrollment (5.5% growth in 2023, ahead of all UNC System institutions); fundraising ($16.4 million generated in 2023); student success and research funding ($227 million generated from 2017-2023); as well as growth and achievement in athletics, including an HBCU National Championship for football in 2022.
“I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to lead this esteemed university through a period of growth and innovation, a period when the institution was primed for transformative change,” Dr. Akinleye said.
“I am immensely proud and truly gratified to have worked with very talented executive staff, a supportive board of trustees, a dedicated faculty and staff and thousands of caring and dedicated alumni across the nation and worldwide during the past eight-plus years.”
Dr. Akinleye joined NCCU as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs in February 2014, then assumed the role of acting chancellor in August 2016 and interim chancellor in December 2016, before his appointment as chancellor.
Before coming to NCCU, Dr. Akinleye had been associate vice chancellor for academic programs at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Earlier in his career, he was vice president for administration and chief operating officer at what is now Edward Waters University, a historically Black educational institution in Jacksonville, Florida.
He has also held faculty and/or administrative posts at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Bowie State University in Maryland.
Dr. Akinleye is a graduate of Alabama A&M University, where he majored in telecommunications. He earned a master’s degree in media technology from Alabama A&M and a Ph.D. in human communications from Howard University.
A national search will be conducted for a successor, with details to be released soon.
