Leadership Change on the Horizon at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis

The board of trustees of LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee, has chosen not to renew the contract of President Andrea Miller. Dr. Miller was appointed the 12th president of the historically Black college in 2015. She is the first woman president in the college’s history.

This past February, the student government association called for Dr. Miller to resign after mold and rodent problems were reported in residence halls. The students also charged the president with nepotism, saying that relatives of the president were on the college’s payroll.

Earlier, Dr. Miller has been chancellor of Baton Rouge Community College in Louisiana. From 2006 to 2012, Dr. Miller served as chancellor of Sowela Technical Community College in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Previously, she was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, administration, and planning at Southwest Tennessee Community College.

Dr. Miller is a 1976 graduate of LeMoyne-Owen College. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology from Atlanta University. She did postdoctoral research in the department of anatomy at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

According to the most recent Department of Education figures, LeMoyne-Owen College enrolls about 860 students. Blacks make up 98 percent of the student body. Women are two thirds of all LeMoyne-Owen students.