White House Initiative on HBCUs Director to Give HU Convocation Address

Hampton, VA - Hampton University welcomes Dr. John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as the speaker for the 67th Annual Opening Convocation on Sunday, Sept. 27. Recipients of the Hampton University Edward L. Hamm, Sr. teaching awards; Eleanor Earl, assistant professor of English, Dr. Carmina Sanchez-del-Valle, associate professor of architecture and Dr. Carl Harris, Jr., professor of music; will also be recognized at the ceremony.

Opening Convocation will be held in Ogden Hall and will begin at 10:45 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Wilson was appointed executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs in July. He works with the presidentially appointed HBCU Board of Advisors and assists the Secretary as liaison between the executive branch and HBCUs. He also works with 32 federal agencies that support HBCUs through federal grants and contracts.

Wilson has been an associate professor of higher education at George Washington University (GWU) since 2006, when he took research leave as executive dean of GWU's Virginia campus, a post he has held since 2002.

He joined the staff at GWU in 2001 to help develop a strategic plan for the university. Previously, he spent 16 years at MIT, where he served as director of foundation relations and assistant provost. As director, Wilson helped to lead two major capital campaigns that raised a combined total of nearly $3 billion.  

Wilson also held several teaching positions during more than a decade in Harvard University's Afro-American Studies Department, as well as in their Graduate School of Education. His primary research and teaching interests include advancement and finance in higher education, and the transformation of aspiring college and universities, especially HBCUs.

Wilson has served as a board member for Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga., and for the Independent Federal Savings Bank in Washington, D.C. He also has served as an official advisor to a variety of efforts to improve black colleges, including initiatives led by the Kresge Foundation, the Mott Foundation, and the United Negro College Fund. He has received distinguished alumni awards from Morehouse College and from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.

Wilson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College, a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard University, and both master's and doctoral degrees in educational administration, planning, and social policy, also from Harvard University.