Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis is the first woman president of Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina — unanimously appointed by its Board of Trustees in 2017. She previously served as the 13th and first woman president of Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens.
A fierce advocate for educational access, Dr. Artis is frequently engaged as a mentor, lecturer, and catalyst for strategic transformation. She is a nationally respected innovator and thought leader on higher education issues, specifically those related to underserved and vulnerable populations.
She has been recognized as Female HBCU President of the Year (HBCU Digest), among the Top 35 Leading Women in Higher Education (Diverse Issues in Higher Education) and President of the Year (Higher Ed Dive).
Dr. Artis serves on the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. She is the Chair of the Presidents’ Advisory Board for Title III Administrators; a member of the NCAA Division II Presidents Council; and a member of the Educational Testing Service Presidents’ Advisory Council. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the University of South Carolina’s National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, and she is a board member for the Forum on Education Abroad. Dr. Artis is Vice-Chair for the Southern Regional Education Board HBCU-MSI Collaboration, and has been named an Equity in Energy Ambassador for the U.S. Department of Energy.
In 2021, Dr. Artis was appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, counseling the U.S. Secretary of Education on accreditation matters and institutional eligibility for federal student aid.
Dr. Artis has received more than 300 awards and recognitions for her work, including the 2021 Lawyers & Leaders Award from the WVU College of Law and West Virginia Executive Magazine.
Dr. Artis holds a J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law (1995) and a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University (2010). Her B.A. in political science is from West Virginia State University (1991).
