Nicole Pride Will Be the First Woman President of West Virginia State University

The West Virginia State University board of governors has chosen Nicole Pride to become the 12th president of the university. Dr. Pride will be the first woman president of the university.

West Virginia State University in Institute, West Virginia, enrolls nearly 3,600 undergraduate students and just more than 100 graduate students, according to the latest data supplied to the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 59 percent of the undergraduate student body.

“I am excited to join West Virginia State University. It is an institution with such a rich history, and I look forward to working with all the members of the State family to continue to advance its land-grant mission,” said Dr. Pride. “The opportunities for the university in the years ahead to continue to meet the economic development and prosperity needs of the state and region are immense and I am honored to be selected to lead this growth.”

Dr. Pride had been serving as the vice provost for academic strategy and operations at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Earlier she served as associate vice chancellor for university relations and chief of staff for the chancellor of the university.

A native of New Jersey, Pride is a graduate of North Carolina State University, where she majored in business management and economics. She holds a master’s degree in corporate and public communications from Seton Hall University in West Orange, New Jersey, and a doctorate in leadership studies from North Carolina A&T State University.