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[HBCU Presidents] Dr. Hazo W. Carter Jr: West Virginia State University
Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by Leshell Hatley in Education, English, HBCU Presidents, Journalism, Scholarly Celebrations
Dr. Hazo W. Carter, Jr. began his service as West Virginia State College’s ninth president in 1987. He became the first President of West Virginia State University on April 7, 2004. For 25 years he has been a chief executive officer at a higher education institution. Prior to coming to West Virginia, Dr. Carter was President and Professor of Education at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas.
West Virginia State University was founded as a historically Black public college but now has a student body of 90% White.
Education
President Carter holds the B.S. Degree in English from Tennessee State University (in Nashville); the M.S. Degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana); and the Doctor of Education Degree (Ed.D.) in Higher Education Administration from George Peabody College for Teachers of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Tenure at West Virginia State
Throughout his tenure at West Virginia State, he has worked tirelessly to articulate the institution’s economic impact and presence as the largest institution of higher education in the Kanawha Valley. President Carter successfully led a 12-year quest to regain the institution’s 1890 land-grant status. He successfully encouraged local community leaders, legislators, and alumni to support our journey to have our land-grant status restored at the State level and recognized and funded at the federal level.
As an 1890 land-grant institution, the University holds membership in the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). Dr. Carter has served as member of the Council of 1890 Presidents and Chancellors since 1995, and he was selected by his peers as Chair-elect in November 2006. He assumed this position in November 2007. As Chair of the Council, Dr. Carter serves on the NASULGC Board of Directors. He is a founding member of the West Virginia Association of Land-Grant Institutions, a cooperative venture between WVSU and West Virginia University.
Following a resolution by the National Alumni Association in 2000, Dr. Carter provided the leadership that resulted in West Virginia State College being designated as West Virginia State University. On April 7, 2004, Governor Bob Wise signed the bill that officially changed the institution’s status to that of university.
Service
President Carter is also an active participant on various local boards. He is a member of the boards of directors of: Advantage Valley, where he is also a member of the Education Committee and Task Force on Workforce Development; Chemical Alliance Zone; United Way of Central West Virginia; College Summit; and, the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference where he served as president (2000-2002) and currently serves as Treasurer and Chair of their Budget Committee. He is also a member of the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation Board of Trustees. Additionally, Dr. Carter is a member of the Martin Luther King, Jr. West Virginia Holiday Commission (initially appointed in 1988) and has served as Chair of the Commission since 1998.
On the national level, Dr. Carter is a member of the White House Initiative’s Board of Advisors for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which is comprised of 21 members from 15 states. He served a three-year term (2001-2004) on the Board of Directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), where he also served on the Executive Committee (2003-2004). In November 2004, he was appointed to AASCU’s Commission on Public University Renewal. Dr. Carter was appointed to AASCUs Committee on Policies and Purposes in November 2006.
He is chairman of the boards of the University’s Research and Development Corporation; the Metro Area Agency on Aging; and, he is a member of the Executive Committee of the West Virginia State University Foundation, Inc. His other memberships include the Central West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Saint Albans Rotary Club and the Advisory Committee of United Bank-Dunbar.
Previous Career & Service
Dr. Carter was a member of the Charleston Regional Chamber of Commerce and Development for more than a decade and served as chairman of the Education Committee for four years. Throughout his association with this organization he has served as Vice Chair of their Board of Directors (2003) and was elected as Chair in January 2004; the organization merged with the Charleston Renaissance and BIDCO in the summer of 2004. Consequently, Dr. Carter is a member of the Board of Directors of the Charleston Area Alliance as well as its Education Committee.
Dr. Carter’s former Board memberships include: the Peabody College of Vanderbilt University Alumni Association (1992-1998), serving as president from 1996-97; Saint Francis Hospital (1998-2002); Division II representative on the Presidents Council for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (1998-2003); the Salvation Army (1999-2002); Dunbar Rotary Club; the Business and Industrial Development Corporation; HospiceCare Foundation of West Virginia (2001-2002); and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities where he served on their Executive Committee (2001-2004).
Honors & Awards
President Carter has received many awards and accolades in recognition of his distinguished service. Among the most cherished are: “Distinguished West Virginian” awards by former Governors Gaston Caperton and Bob Wise; “Honorary West Virginian” awarded by Governor Joe Manchin; designation as “President of the Century” by the West Virginia State College (University) National Alumni Association during their biennial conference in 2000 in recognition of his success to regain land-grant status. His alma mater, Tennessee State University, also presented him with its highest achievement award in recognition of his outstanding service and accomplishments in the field of education. In January 2007, he was he was honored by the House of Delegates of the West Virginia Legislature and recognized for his contributions and service to West Virginia State University, the Kanawha Valley and the State of West Virginia. The House further expressed its sincere gratitude for his tireless efforts to articulate the institution’s economic impact and presence as the largest institution of higher education in the Kanawha Valley.
Dr. Hazo W. Carter, Jr. is the son of Dr. Hazo W. Carter, Sr.
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Information courtesy of WVSU’s website and wikipedia.
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