Bonia Brown, a seasoned academic leader, was appointed Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University effective July 1, 2024.
She most recent served as the interim President of Northern Kentucky University (NKU). Brown joined NKU in 2019 having served as NKU’s Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. The interim president appointment precluded her from applying for the permanent position.
Not long after earning her JD at Wake Forest University School of Law, Brown entered higher education first as Assistant to the President at Livingstone College in 2002 and then at Johnson C. Smith University. In 2004 she was appointed as assistant university attorney at Winston-Salem State University. She then became Chief of Staff at the University of North Texas and then Vice Chancellor and Chief of Staff at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Brown then joined the Education Trust in Washington, DC. and then Achieve the Dream before joining NKU.