Rochelle L. Ford has been appointed the eighth president and second woman president of Dillard University in New Orleans. She will assume her new post on July 1.
Dillard University enrolls just over 1,200 students according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 77 percent of the student body. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to the university’s campus. There were 2,300 students enrolled at Dillard at that time.
“I feel very blessed and honored to be selected to service Dillard University, which is a national treasure committed to producing leaders who live ethically,” said Dr. Ford. “Dillard’s alumni think precisely and act courageously to make the world a better place. I aim to continue that legacy and ensure the sustainability of Dillard for generations to come.”
Since 2018, Dr. Ford has been serving as dean of School of Communications at Elon University in North Carolina. Before becoming dean at Elon, she was a professor of public relations in the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York. Earlier, Dr. Ford spent 16 years on the faculty of the School of Communications at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
A native of Gahanna, Ohio, Dr. Ford is a graduate of Howard University. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Ph.D. in journalism from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.