Paulette Dillard has been selected as the eighteenth president of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. The university enrolls just over 1,600 students, according to the latest data supplied to the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 58 percent of the student body.
Dr. Dillard had been serving as interim president since June 2017. Previously, she was the vice president of academic affairs and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the university. Dr. Dillard is a trained medical technologist certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology and has over 25 years of experience working in the field of diagnostic laboratory medicine. She began her career at International Clinical Laboratories in Nashville, Tennessee. She went on to hold senior positions at SmithKline and Quest Diagnostics.
After being named president of Shaw University, Dr. Dillard stated, “I am thankful and committed to intentional leadership of Shaw University as we continue to grow as an institutional leader in the Raleigh community and globally abroad.”
A native of Mount Airy, North Carolina, President Dillard holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina, an MBA from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in cell biology from Clark Atlanta University in Georgia.