INSTITUTE, W.Va. — Another finalist for the West Virginia State University president position visited campus on Tuesday.
Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Jr., the chief academic officer and provost for the University of the District of Columbia answered questions and spoke about his vision during multiple forums. He is vying to become West Virginia State University’s (WVSU) 13th president. He’s the second of three finalists to be on the Institute campus this week.
Forums took place at the James C. Wilson University Union on campus and included groups such as students, faculty, staff, Kanawha Valley community members, legislative leaders, foundation board, and other community members.
Potter laid out a presentation featuring three points: Who he was, what has he done to prepare himself to be president at WVSU and what are his ideas for the future.
“I’m a scholar, teacher, administrator who appreciates fully and understands the values of diverse world viewpoints even if they differ from my own. I think that is an absolute necessity in the 21st century when we are talking about leadership,” Potter said.
Potter, who is also a tenured professor of English at the University of the District of Columbia, said he believes he has prepared himself to become president at WVSU by coming through the ranks of faculty. He told the crowd to look at ‘the type of institutions’ he has served at, saying he’s been everywhere.
At the University of the District of Columbia, he leads six academic colleges and schools, graduate and professional education, continuing and professional education, workforce development, research and sponsored programs, university libraries, and teaching and learning. He has oversight for developing academic programs leading to associates, baccalaureate, masters, doctoral, and Juris doctorate levels as well as non-academic certifications.
Potter has a 25-year career in higher education in roles that include: serving as a tenured professor, department chair, associate dean, college dean at two Minority Serving Institutions, two-time inaugural chief diversity officer, and Director/Principal Investigator for almost $20 million in extramurally-funded grants and contracts, WVSU noted.
Potter said what brought him to WVSU was the institution’s mission and the need to establish identity.
“I am pleased with the historically black college mission and the access mission of land-grant function of WVSU,” Potter said.
“As I continue to get to know the organization through the search committee and my conversations through the interview process, I think there is very much a hunger and desire for solidifying an institutional identity that people can rally around.”
Potter added he believes that his ideas for the future come now. He said his ideas often come from others and are in the best interest of the institution based on shared governance.
“Students have a voice, staff have a voice and faculty have a voice as well as the board. At the end of the day, it will be important and incumbent upon a new president to be able to articulate what he or she has heard and share that with the board in making a collective decision in the best interest of the institution,” Potter said.
Potter graduated magna cum laude with a triple major in English, philosophy, and religion from Stillman College and a master’s and Ph.D. in English, with distinction, from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
READ MORE: Potter’s background on the WVSU website
Dr. Melva Williams, the vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management at Southern University at Shreveport visited campus on Monday. Ericke S. Cage, the current interim president of WVSU will go through the forums on Wednesday.
Each candidate will follow the same schedule that includes a University Staff Forum from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., University Faculty Forum from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., University Student Forum from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Kanawha Valley Community, Legislative, Foundation Board, Board of Visitors, Community Forum from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and a ‘W’ Club/Alumni Forum from 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Cage has been the interim president of WVSU since Sept. 2021. He was previously serving as the university’s chief operating officer and managing the day-to-day operations of the university since the former president, Nicole Pride, resigned on July 30.