NC Central University names next chancellor. She’s a familiar face in NC higher ed.

A familiar face to the UNC System and its historically Black universities will be the next leader of North Carolina Central University.

Karrie Dixon will move from the chancellorship at Elizabeth City State University, a position she has held since 2018, to become NC Central’s 13th chancellor. She will begin her new role on July 1.

The UNC System Board of Governors approved Dixon for the role in a meeting Thursday, upon system President Peter Hans’ nomination. The search process to find the university’s next leader began in late January, after Chancellor Johnson Akinleye announced earlier that month he would retire by the end of the academic year.

University community members, from students to alumni to elected leaders, gathered at the main event hall in the university’s student union Thursday to watch a livestream of the Board of Governors’ meeting and welcome Dixon to the university.

A first-generation college student and a native of Winston-Salem, Dixon holds her undergraduate and doctoral degrees from NC State University, and a master’s degree from UNC Greensboro. She has worked in the UNC System for 23 years, rising through the ranks from lecturer to leadership roles, including two separate stints as an administrator in the UNC System office, before becoming the chancellor of Elizabeth City State.

ECSU has grown and flourished under her leadership, with enrollment increasing by nearly 70% — a significant accomplishment for a university that was on the brink of closing nearly a decade ago.

Dixon told The News & Observer in an interview following Thursday’s event that it was a difficult decision to leave ECSU, given how much she grew to love the university and its community. But she was excited by the opportunity to lead NC Central, which she called “a crown jewel” of the UNC System.

“North Carolina Central has a rich legacy and history, and the role that it plays in the community is strong,” Dixon said, “and I just want to leverage that and build partnerships across Durham.”

A long history with the UNC System

At Thursday’s Board of Governors meeting, Hans called Dixon “one of the finest academic leaders our state has produced in a long time.”

“She’s known for building great teams and taking on big challenges with honesty and optimism,” Hans said in a news release. “I’m excited for NC Central and grateful to Chancellor Dixon for her commitment to this state.”

Dixon said in her remarks Thursday that becoming chancellor at NC Central is a “dream come true.”

“NCCU embodies grit, innovation, leadership, purpose and legacy, and I am committed to building on our rich traditions and ensuring that our students, faculty, staff and alumni have the tools and opportunities necessary to succeed,” Dixon said in a news release. “I can’t wait to engage with all the possibilities that Durham has to offer.”

Though NC Central’s enrollment has dropped slightly in recent years, Dixon will take the helm at a time of increased interest in the Durham university. In February, the university had received almost 30% more applications from prospective students compared to the previous year, an increase the school’s undergraduate admissions director attributed primarily to “extremely intentional” recruitment efforts in a March interview with The N&O. The university generally enrolls around 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Dixon told The N&O that she would like to see enrollment grow at NC Central, noting the university will need to be strategic in doing so and likely look beyond the traditional high school-to-college pipeline.

“We have to look at pipelines, look at our adult learners, our military, our transfer students,” Dixon said. “All those pipelines are going to be essential to continue to grow at NCCU.”

In her remarks to the crowd Thursday, Dixon vowed to make NC Central “the best” HBCU in the state, even if it is not the largest — a title held by North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.

The chancellor search drew more than 50 candidates, a UNC System news release said. Search committee chair James Johnson, an NC Central alumnus and a professor at the UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler School of Business, told The N&O that Dixon stood out in the search as “a proven leader.”

“I think the key to the success of this university is having someone who can move from the streets to the suites without missing a beat,” Johnson said. “That’s her.”

With Dixon departing ECSU for NC Central, another chancellor position in the 17-campus university system will open. Searches for new chancellors at NC A&T and UNC-Chapel Hill are also underway, while a search at Appalachian State University “will be launched in the near future,” per an April announcement following the departure of former Chancellor Sheri Everts.