Roderick Raynor Paige served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi, moved from classroom teacher to college dean and school superintendent to be the first African American to serve as the U.S. education chief.
Marye Anne Payne Fox is a physical organic chemist and university administrator. She was the first female chief executive of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In April 2004, Fox was named Chancellor of the University of California San Diego. In 2010 Fox received the National Medal of Science.
ITT Technical Institute was a for-profit technical institute. Founded in 1969 and with approximately 130 campuses in 38 states of the United States, ITT Tech was one of the largest for-profit educators in the U.S. before it closed in 2016.
Larry King Monteith is a North Carolina electrical engineer and academic leader. He retired from North Carolina State University following a distinguished career of leadership positions, culminating with service as the university's eleventh chancellor from 1989 to 1998.
William Clyde "Bill" Friday was an American educator who served as the head of the University of North Carolina system from 1956 to 1986. He was born in Raphine, Virginia and raised in Dallas, North Carolina.
Nash Nicks Winstead was an American academic.
Joab Langston Thomas was an American university administrator and scientist, who served as president of Pennsylvania State University, North Carolina State University and The University of Alabama.
Jackson Ashcroft Rigney, was educated at New Mexico A&M College where he earned a B.S. in 1934. He earned an M.S. from Iowa State College in 1936.
Carey Hoyt Bostian was an American educator. He was educated at Catawba College, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in 1928, and at the University of Pittsburgh where he earned a Master's Degree in 1930 and a Ph.D. in 1933.
Eugene Clyde Brooks was an American educator. He was educated at Trinity College, where he earned an A.B. degree in 1894. He also earned a Litt.D. degree from Davidson College in 1918.
Dr. James L. Oblinger was the 13th Chancellor of North Carolina State University. He served in this position from 2005, after the resignation of Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, until his resignation on June 8, 2009, amid increased public and media scrutiny surrounding the hiring and compensation of Mary Easley, wife of former Governor Mike Easley and the severance package provided for former provost Larry Nielsen.
Earl Glenn Yarbrough Sr. was a former president of the Savannah State University from May 30, 2007 until May 8, 2011.
Wallace Carl Riddick Jr. was an American football coach and college administrator. Riddick received his A.B. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his degree in civil engineering from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He served as a consultant for several water projects and for the Seaboard Railroad. Riddick was also a member of the Board of Visitors for the United States Naval Academy and of several state boards and committees. Because of his advocacy on the students' behalf, Riddick was awarded with the Officer's Cross of the Order of St. Sava by King Alexander of Yugoslavia in 1931.
Roderick J. McDavis, Ph.D., is the former 20th president of Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio. McDavis has more than 35 years of service in higher education, including roles as both a professor and an academic administrator.
Blaine Allison Brownell is an American university teacher, administrator, and specialist in U.S. urban, southern, and twentieth-century history, and was the 12th president of Ball State University. Author or co-author of seven books and over twenty-five articles, he has served as tenured full professor at four universities.
Jane Ellen "Bonnie" Newman from North Hampton, New Hampshire is an American administrator and business executive. A Republican, she worked for Judd Gregg, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush. Newman was also interim president of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the Community College System of New Hampshire. She was selected to be the United States Senator from New Hampshire when Gregg was nominated to become United States Secretary of Commerce, but did not take office when the vacancy she was to fill did not materialize.
Robert B. "Yank" Heisler Jr. was the retired chairman of KeyBank, the 12th largest bank in the United States by total assets, the retired chief executive officer of McDonald Financial Group, and was the dean of the Kent State University College of Business Administration and Graduate School of Management until 2011. The Kent State business school under Heisler's leadership was selected by The Princeton Review for its 2009 list of the top business education programs in the United States. In 2005, he was named to the Inside Business Hall of Fame.
Randy Hanna is the Dean and chief executive officer of Florida State University Panama City and the College of Applied Studies at FSU. He assumed these roles on December 1, 2016, after having served as interim dean since August 2016.
Harry Kenneth Newburn was an American educator. He served as the president of various universities during the mid-20th century.
![Rutherford H. Adkins [[Tuskegee Airmen]]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e1/Rutherford_H._Adkins_in_1944.jpg/320px-Rutherford_H._Adkins_in_1944.jpg)
Rutherford H. Adkins "Lubby" (1924-1998) was a World War II pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen. He flew fourteen combat missions with the Tuskegee Airmen. He came home to complete his education and earn multiple degrees: he was the first African American to earn a PhD from The Catholic University in Washington D.C. Adkins went on to serve in many positions in higher education including as President of Knoxville College and Fisk University.
