President and CEO of Benedict College, Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis was honored by the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. during a ceremony in Atlanta on September 23.
The National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. is an organization recognizing and honoring distinguished alumni HCBUs for their contributions to the HBCUs.
Artis became Benedict’s first female president in 2017. Under her leadership, the university was awarded the 2019 American Council on Education (ACE) Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation. This award recognizes institutions that have responded to higher education challenges in innovative and creative ways and achieved dramatic results in a short period of time. Benedict was also named 2019 HBCU of the Year by the HBCU Digest.
Dr. Artis is no stranger to impressive titles and honors.
In 2018, Aris was named “Female HBCU President of the Year” by HBCU Digest. In 2019, she was named to Diverse Issues in Higher Education’s “Top 35 Leading Women in Higher Education.” In 2020, Dr. Artis was named “President of the Year” by Higher Ed Dive for her leadership in navigating the unprecedented challenges of 2020.
She spoke highly of her newest distinction of National Black Alumni Hall of Fame inductee. “I am deeply honored to be recognized by my alma mater, West Virginia State (College) University, and inducted into the National Black Alumni Hall of Fame.
“It is imperative that individuals who have matriculated through HBCUs and achieved a measure of personal and professional success be highlighted as examples of the transformative power and educational quality of these extraordinary universities.”
Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis
Benedict College alumnus I.S. Leevy Johnson was also inducted into the National Black Alumni Hall of Fame along with Dr. Artis.
Johnson, who has practiced law in South Carolina for over forty years and is recognized as one of the top criminal attorneys in the state, was inducted as a Lifetime Achievement Inductee.
The two join the esteemed list of over 300 inductees who have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Legendary Opera Singer Leontyne Price, Chief Justice Thurgood Marshall, TV Maven Oprah Winfrey, and Ambassador Andrew Young.
Benedict College also received a check for $10,000 from the HBCU Change Foundation for scholarships, internships, and career opportunities to deserving students at HBCUs.
