Dr. Lily D. McNair, recently selected as Tuskegee University’s eighth president after being unanimously selected by its Board of Trustees, will serve as the first female president of the school in its 136-year history.
McNair, who currently serves as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Wagner College in New York City, assumes her duties at Tuskegee on July 1.
“When we launched our presidential search last October, our goal was to identify someone who could champion both Tuskegee’s historic legacy and her place in the future of higher education,” John Page, chair of Tuskegee’s Board of Trustees, said in a statement. “Our Board of Trustees is confident that Dr. McNair brings to Tuskegee the precise skill set required to ensure we continue thriving as one of the nation’s leading HBCUs.”
Since 2011, McNair has served as the second-ranking executive of Wagner College — a private college of 2,200 students located on New York City’s Staten Island. A clinical psychologist by training, McNair’s higher education career includes other academic, research and executive appointments at Spelman College, University of Georgia, the State University of New York at New Paltz, and Vassar College.
The New Jersey native holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Princeton University, and master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
