President Wayne Watson Elected Chairman of National Association

President Watson

The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) announced this month that it has elected Dr. Wayne D. Watson, President of Chicago State University, as the organizations' Chairman of the Board of Directors.

"NAFEO is proud to announce the selection of Dr. Watson as our newest Chairman and we know his decades of experience as a higher education leader will help our organization further its mission of ensuring that all students of our membership schools have a stronger voice in education equality," Dr. Lezli Baskerville, NAFEO President and CEO said. "Black colleges face a unique set of challenges in the months and years to come and we will need highly skilled and respected advocates like Dr. Watson who bring the skill set to address those challenges."

NAFEO serves as a nationwide umbrella organization for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) as well as Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI). The Association represents more than 200 higher education institutions throughout the country that predominantly serve black students. NAFEO's mission is to serve as a strong public policy advocate for its member schools.

Watson has served as the President of Chicago State University since 2009, where he has worked to create a culture of accountability and strengthen the University both academically and fiscally. Prior to CSU, Watson served as Chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago and was the President of Kennedy-King College in Chicago.

"I am truly honored to join the Board of Directors of NAFEO as the Chairman and I look forward to playing a strong role in achieving our shared goal of helping black colleges and universities strengthen and grow," Watson said. "We find ourselves at a time when higher education institutions that serve minority students are facing unique challenges. When our government should be working to make college more affordable, we instead are seeing more and more barriers to financial aid. As the global marketplace becomes more competitive, we must ensure all students are able to offer highly competitive academic programs that prepare the next generation of leaders in science, technology, education, medicine and more. The strength of NAFEO is in its membership and with the coordinated energies of all HBCU and PBU Presidents. By working together, we will all greatly benefit. "