The First Woman President of Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina

The board of trustees of Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina has named Roslyn Artis as the college’s 14th president. When she takes office on September 1, she will be the first woman to serve as president of Benedict College in its 147-year history.

Since 2014, Dr. Artis has served as president of Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens. She is the only woman to have served as president of Florida Memorial University in its 138-year history.

After a career in law, in 2003 Dr. Artis joined the staff at Mountain State University in Parkersburg, West Virginia, as senior academic officer for distance education. She later served as provost for distance education, vice president for advancement, president of the Mountain State University Foundation, and chief academic officer of the university. The university closed at the beginning of 2013 after it lost its accreditation.

Dr. Artis is a graduate of West Virginia State University and the West Virginia University School of Law. She holds an educational doctorate from Vanderbilt University.