Shaw University Honors Its Outgoing President

Dorothy Cowser Yancy, president of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, has had a campus building named in her honor by the university’s board of trustees. The building, completed in 2008, was formerly known as the Institute for Health, Social and Community Research Building.

In September, Dr. Yancy announced that she is stepping down from the presidency of the historically Black educational institution when a successor is found. She was called to lead Shaw University on two different occasions first in 2009 and again in 2011. She is the only woman to serve as president of the university.

Earlier is her career, Dr. Yancy served for 14 years as president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A native of Alabama, Dr. Yancy is an alumna of Johnson C. Smith University. She holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. in political science from Atlanta University.