The board of trustees of Jarvis Christian University in Hawkins, Texas, has selected Glenell M. Lee-Pruitt as the university’s thirteenth president, effective July 1, 2023. She succeeds Lester C. Newman, who served as the president for 11 years and is retiring after a 47-year career in higher education.
Jarvis Christian University, which recently transitioned to university status, enrolls just over 700 students, according to the most recent statistics available from the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 55 percent of the student body.
Since August 2012, Dr. Lee-Pruiit has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the university. Previously, she served at Mississippi Valley State University as dean of University College and the first-year experience, director of community/service learning, director of the renaissance learning adult education program, and was a tenured professor in the department of social work.
An ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Dr. Lee-Pruitt holds a bachelor of social work degree and a Ph.D. in social work from Jackson State University in Mississippi. She holds a master of social work degree from Temple University in Philadelphia and a master of divinity degree from Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio.