First woman to be named chancellor at WSSU begins in July

Following a national search of more than 50 candidates, Bonita J. Brown was elected today to become Winston-Salem State University’s new chancellor. She’s the first permanent female leader in the school’s history, and one whose roots there run deep.

At the public announcement in Donald Julian Reaves Student Center, with roughly a dozen family members in the audience, she described the event as a surreal, full circle moment.

"Many years ago, a young woman from Boiling Springs, North Carolina, decided to move to the big city to come to Winston-Salem State University to get her degree," says Brown. "She met a local young man who probably shouldn’t have been sniffing around the campus, and they fell in love, and by her junior year they were married, and by her senior year, I came along."

Brown fills the shoes of former Chancellor Elwood Robinson who retired in June of 2023 following an eight-year tenure. She’s an attorney who previously served as interim president of Northern Kentucky University. During her acceptance speech she outlined several areas of focus including fiscal wellbeing, campus culture and community engagement.