People

The Marguerite Casey Foundation (MCF), in partnership with Haymarket Books, will host an in-depth discussion on the impact of student debt on activism at Winston-Salem State University on Monday, April 14, at 7 p.m.

Three Winston-Salem State University students are preparing for a journey that’s out of this world – literally. On April 14, Gabrielle Erwin, Anya Buckner and Sarah Lang will be in Texas to witness the launch of Blue Origin’s historic all-female space mission

Dr. Felicia R. Simpson, chair and associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, has been honored as the first-ever recipient of the Eastern North American Region (ENAR) International Biometric Society’s Dionne Price Early Career PIONEER Award in Biostatistics.

WSSU is excited to host Grammy-winning hip-hop artist Rapsody as a guest speaker for its annual Women’s History Month celebration, “Ladies First: Women on the Rise,” on Thursday, March 20, 2025, at 7 p.m. in Dillard Auditorium.

Winston-Salem State University is set to host a series of impactful events throughout March, bringing together students, faculty, staff, and the community for discussions, performances, and educational initiatives.

Plant samples from Winston-Salem State University’s Astrobotany Lab will be on the first Blue Origin all-female mission to space this spring.

Dr. Michael Magruder, director of bands for Winston-Salem State University, has been appointed president of the HBCU National Band and Orchestra Directors’ Consortium (HBCU-NBODC). He will lead the only conference designed for HBCU band directors and students for a two-year term.

“I am thrilled to have gone from being an au pair in France in my youth to a Fulbright,” Merrills said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I foresee while I was scrubbing floors and changing diapers in France as an au pair that I would one day return as a Fulbright.”

Dr. Dawn Hicks Tafari, an associate professor of education at Winston-Salem State University, approaches life with purpose and passion. She believes that her intentional dedication to teaching has played a key role in her selection as recipient of the 2025 University of North Carolina Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) will host legendary hip-hop artist and producer Pete Rock as the featured guest speaker for its annual Black History Month celebration. The event, titled “The Miseducation of…”, will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 13, in Dillard Auditorium on the WSSU campus.

Winston-Salem State University has reached a historic milestone with the largest graduate student enrollment in its history, a significant achievement that comes nearly two years after the institution reinstated its graduate college.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr., two members of the Ramily were recognized during a joint program of Winston-Salem State University and Wake Forest University on the official federal holiday honoring the civil rights icon. Student Nia James and faculty member Maestra D’Walla Simmons-Burke were the 2025 honorees.

Winston-Salem State University hosted a ribbon cutting and grand opening of its new Allegacy Federal Credit Union Student Resource Center on Jan. 23, addressing food insecurity and enabling a lifeline of extended support for student success.

Winston-Salem State University students will have access to more food and clothing resources thanks to the generosity of Allegacy Federal Credit Union. Allegacy donated $120,000 to WSSU in 2023 to repurpose a former game room on the campus into a new Student Resource Center.

Winston-Salem State University nursing alumnus Dr. Clifton Kenon Jr. is no stranger to being a trailblazer. At age 33, he won the highest honor given to a nurse from the American Academy of Nursing. Now, at age 37, he is making history again by becoming the first male and first millennial to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from AWHONN.

Winston-Salem State University celebrated its fall graduates during commencement Friday, Dec. 13. More than 500 students became alumni, ready to depart to serve, during the historic ceremony that was presided by the university’s first female chief administrator, Chancellor Bonita Brown.

Winston-Salem State University is committed to preparing students to excel and lead, to act compassionately and to rise above challenges with the strength and spirit of a true Ram. On Dec. 13, WSSU celebrated its Fall 2024 graduating class as they departed to serve to make an impact on the global society. Here is a glimpse of where a few students are headed:

Winston-Salem State University is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of Rajah Caruth, a standout graduate of its renowned motorsports management program and a rising NASCAR driver. Caruth will wave the checkered flag on his academic journey this Fall.

The Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) Foundation is pleased to announce the acquisition of 42 acres of property, marking a significant step in advancing the university’s commitment to fostering student success and enabling future growth. The property, purchased for $7.5 million, is located at 2900 Reynolds Park Road, Winston-Salem. 

Winston-Salem State University received nearly half a million dollars to launch a new initiative focused on fostering a safe and supportive environment while addressing and preventing domestic violence. The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women, awarded a $499,976 grant to RamsSafe.

As I reflect on my first months as Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, I am inspired by the incredible accomplishments of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Homecoming was a highlight of my time here. It was incredible to watch generations of the Ramily come together to celebrate all that is wonderful about WSSU.

Winston-Salem State University’s new advancement leadership team is poised to enhance alumni and community engagement, as well as philanthropic contributions. Kevan Turman is the new vice chancellor for University Advancement; and John D. Kirby Jr. is assistant vice chancellor.

From actor Samuel L. Jackson to a Purple Heart military veteran, Winston-Salem State University students presented stories on drugs and alcohol abuse for a Drugs, Crime and Justice community project titled, "Echoes of Resilience: Unveiling Stories of Drug Victims and Survivors." Take a listen by scanning QR codes in story.

This year’s homecoming was not only marked by excitement, merriment, pomp and circumstance, but it was also a testament to the generosity of alumni. One of the highlights of homecoming weekend was the announcement of this year’s alumni giving, which was a total of $287,963.97.

Chancellor Bonita Brown and Winston-Salem State University invite you to WSSU's Forever Red Homecoming 2024. This is the moment to celebrate our pride, traditions and everything that makes being a Ram special. While we want you to enjoy the festivities, it’s important to stay aware and safe. WSSU Police and Public Safety, along with local law enforcement, fire departments and EMS, are working to make this homecoming the safest yet

Each year during homecoming week, Winston-Salem State University recognizes the progress made in healthcare for African Americans and the East Winston community and honors that history during the Healthcare Legends Awards Luncheon. The program will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Donald J. Reaves Student Activities Center, Room 100.

There is a new Winston-Salem State University homecoming event this year designed to benefit students in the military program. The WSSU Military Affairs Association (MAA) will host a dance on Friday, Nov. 8, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the WSSU Thompson Center, Room 207.

Winston-Salem State University is excited to announce The Ramily Road Tour, coming soon to a city near you. WSSU is hitting the road, offering high school students, parents, families and community leaders an opportunity to learn what makes WSSU’s Ramily (Ram family) so special.

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded nearly $4 million to Winston-Salem State University to establish a Research Center of Excellence. Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman made the announcement during a press conference on WSSU’s campus following her visit with students.

Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) and Wake Forest University School of Law signed a Memorandum of Understanding today, creating a pathway for WSSU students to matriculate into the Wake Forest School of Law full-time residential juris doctor (JD) program.

Winston-Salem State University Office of Emergency Management (OEM) personnel have been deployed to UNC Asheville to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene while the WSSU campus holds a drive to help peer institutions impacted by the storm. Jason Stogner, director of OEM, was deployed on Sept. 28, and Sarah Isom, assistant director, left Sept. 30.

Winston-Salem State University is honored to announce a historic first meeting between Chancellor Bonita Brown and Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah, Minister of Education of the Republic of Liberia. The meeting took place on Sept. 30 on the WSSU campus and marks an important landmark in fostering bilateral collaboration in higher education.

Alexandria Brown, a senior at Winston-Salem State University, has been selected to attend the prestigious inaugural Allstate Foundation National Youth Service Summit in Chicago September 27-29. She was one of only 75 students chosen for this honor.

The Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and the S.G. Atkins Honor Society will host induction ceremonies for each group from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29, at Dillard Auditorium in the Anderson Center. This will be the first induction ceremony for Phi Kappa Phi. WSSU's chapter was installed in January.

Winston-Salem State University officially became a StormReady campus during a Recognition Ceremony on Sept. 17. Nick Petro, warning coordination meteorologist of the National Weather Service (NWS), Raleigh office, read the official letter and designation during the program and presented it to Jason Stogner, director of the WSSU Office of Emergency Management.

As Winston-Salem State University launches into the 2024-2025 academic year, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Anthony Graham, announced the following new and acting appointments in the Divisions of Academic and Student Affairs.

This is a special year for Dr. Fran Bates Oates, who has 50 reasons to celebrate. This year marks her 50th anniversary as an educator and is also her 50th class reunion at Winston-Salem State University as a member of the Class of 1974.

Winston-Salem State University will officially become a StormReady campus during a recognition ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 2 p.m. in the Donald J. Reaves Center, Room 100A, featuring Nicholas “Nick” Petro, warning coordination meteorologist of the National Weather Service in Raleigh.

Dr. Leslee Battle, dean of the Winston-Salem State University School of Health Sciences, has been awarded the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) Fellows Program Award for 2024. The ASAHP is a national professional association for administrators, educators and others who are concerned with critical issues affecting allied health education.

Encourages campus to get excited about change

Employees of Winston-Salem State University got a chance to hear from its 14th Chancellor Bonita Brown during the annual faculty and staff kickoff Aug. 14 at Dillard Auditorium on the campus of WSSU. It was Brown’s first address to the campus community as it prepares for the new academic school year.

Cam Witherspoon, a golfer for Winston-Salem State University, is featured on the Greensboro Six mural that was unveiled at the Gillespie Golf Course in Greensboro Aug. 6.

Winston-Salem State University alumnus Jeremiah Erby learned an important concept from his experience with the University of Chicago that inspired him to give back to his alma mater.

If there’s one thing Winston-Salem State University senior Ayanna Tewolde has learned, it’s the importance of networking and relationship building. Tewolde is spending her summer as a marketing intern with Team Penske as part of NASCAR’s Diversity and Inclusion Program.

Today, Barbara Woods is a hair stylist. But after two weeks, she could start a new career in biomanufacturing thanks to a new program at Winston-Salem State University. Woods is a member of the first WSSU cohort of the Accelerate NC Life Sciences Manufacturing Coalition, led by the NC Biotechnology Center, which received $25 million from President Biden’s Build Back Better program to strengthen life sciences manufacturing in the state of North Carolina.

Three Winston-Salem State University students have been selected to participate in the North Carolina Governor’s HBCU Internship Program this summer. The program was established in 2015 to build a bridge between North Carolina’s HBCU students and leading Fortune 500 companies in the state.

Winston-Salem State University’s food pantry has received $1,500 from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation to help nourish neighbors experiencing hunger. The donation will help supply non-perishable food, toiletries, personal hygiene items and other needed supplies to the Allegacy Federal Credit Union Student Resource Center at WSSU.

Winston-Salem State University junior Maliyah Winters is already a history maker. The Raleigh native is the first historically Black college student to intern at the NC Real Estate Commission in the 2024 Summer Education and Licensing Department.

The Department of Education at Winston-Salem State University has been awarded a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). 

Winston-Salem State University’s Office of Integrated Marketing Communications has won two Telly Awards for a recruitment video in the record-breaking 45th Annual Telly Awards.

Bonita J. Brown has been named the 14th Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University. She was elected by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, following her nomination by University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans. Brown will assume her role on July 1, 2024.

This class was unique as it was the class that felt the disruptions of the global pandemic as students transitioned from high school graduates to college freshmen. Their high school graduations were mostly likely in person and college orientations were shackled by social distancing.

The Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction (CITI) recognized its Class of 2024 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Credentialed Educators and micro-credential completers. The pinning ceremony was held May 14 at the Bermuda Run Country Club.

The Class of Spring 2024 celebrated commencement on Friday, May 10. Witnessing the excitement and sense of accomplishment radiating from our graduates was truly inspiring. We invite you to read these profiles and to browse through our Spring 2024 Commencement photo album.

Several students from Winston-Salem State University’s Sport Management program walked across the stage at commencement on May 10, 2024. Here are some success stories of these impressive scholars. 

Winston-Salem State University offers an excellent Sport Management program that prepares our students for dynamic careers in the sports industry. WSSU is the first and only HBCU to receive accreditation from the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA).

Winston-Salem State University is committed to helping our students Unleash Their Genius and succeed in all areas of their lives.  On May 10, 2024, WSSU will honor our spring graduating class.  Here's a glimpse of where a few students from the Class of Spring 2024 are headed. 

A Winston-Salem State University alumnus is giving back to his college and helping his high school in the process. Dr. Clayton Scott of Statesville, a 1976 graduate of WSSU, has established a scholarship to help students from Statesville High School to further their education at his alma mater.

Winston-Salem State University football wide receiver RJ Mobley has been selected to the Chicago Bears minicamp. Mobley, who played two seasons with the Rams, played in every game the last two seasons.

Winston-Salem State University’s Office of Integrated Marketing Communications was named among the top in the nation in the 2023 Collegiate Advertising Awards Program.

On Monday, April 1 Winston-Salem State University kicks off Scholarship Week 2024: A Gallery of Genius. WSSU students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend biggest academic event of the year that shines a spotlight on how scholars from all disciplines Unleash their Genius.

Join us for the second annual Cancer Awareness Event.  Thursday, March 21 will feature a panel discussion on the different types of cancer.  The panelists will feature representatives from the local healthcare community. The following day, Friday, March 22 enjoy a variety of interactive events taking place at WSSU's practice field.

The Winston-Salem State University Foundation Inc. has named Dr. Alfredo I. Aguilar as its chief operating officer. He is the first person to assume this role with the foundation. Aguilar, who began his duties on March 1, has worked in finance and operations during the span of his 23-year career for four major organizations.

The American Council on Education (ACE) announced that Dr. Mel Johnson-Norwood, vice chancellor and associate provost of Student Affairs at Winston-Salem State University, has been named an ACE Fellow for academic year 2024-25.

As we honor Black History Month, we commemorate Winston-Salem State University’s long and distinguished list of firsts and its contributions to the transformative milestones of the collective African American journey.

Not only did the WSSU Rams men’s basketball team win 64-47 over the Virginia Union Panthers in a game simulcast on three major networks – TNT, ESPN2 and NBA TV – but the once-in-a-lifetime experience spilled off the courts as well.

Winston-Salem State University student Vinsha Torain placed second in the PNC North Carolina HBCU Pitch Competition. The second annual competition was held in early February at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro.

As we honor Black History Month, we commemorate Winston-Salem State University’s long and distinguished list of firsts and its contributions to the transformative milestones of the collective African American journey.

As we honor Black History Month, we commemorate Winston-Salem State University’s long and distinguished list of firsts and its contributions to the transformative milestones of the collective African American journey.

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of a beloved figure in the history of our institution, Dr. Cleon F. Thompson, our former Chancellor. Dr. Thompson served as the university's leader from 1985 to 1995.

Winston-Salem State University’s Department of Physical Therapy is looking for participants for a study titled: “Evaluation of segmental lumbar spinal motion and physiological responses following common spinal mobilization techniques.”

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi will install its 361st chapter at Winston-Salem University this month. Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society recognizing academic excellence.