Webinar: Working with Boards of Trustees in Today’s Environment

Earl Lewis

Earl Lewis is the Thomas C. Holt Distinguished University Professor of history, Afroamerican and
African Studies, and Public Policy and director of the Center for Social Solutions at the
University of Michigan. From March 2013-2018, he served as President of The Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation. A noted author and esteemed social historian, he is past President of the
Organization of American Historians. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
(2008) and the American Academy of Political & Social Sciences (2022), he is the recipient of
twelve honorary degrees, and the National Humanities Medal (2023). Lewis has held faculty
and administrative appointments at Michigan (1989-2004) and the University of California,
Berkeley (1984-89). From 2004-2012, he served as Emory University’s Provost and Executive
Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of History and African
American Studies. In addition to prior service on a number of nonprofit and governmental
boards, Lewis chaired the board of Regents at Concordia College-Moorhead, is a trustee and
chair of the board of ETS, secretary of the board of trustees of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, and a director of 2U and the Capital Group, American Funds.

Ben Vinson III

Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., a distinguished historian, began serving as the 18^th president of Howard University  on September 1, 2023. An accomplished visionary leader, President Vinson guides the institution’s direction  as a comprehensive, research university consisting of 14 schools and colleges; 13,000 students; 2,900 staff; and 1,200 faculty. He also serves as a tenured professor of history in the University’s College of Arts and  Sciences. Prior to accepting the presidency at Howard, Dr. Vinson served as provost and executive vice  president of Case Western Reserve University from 2018-2023. 

Dr. Vinson’s scholarly work centers on the African diaspora with a focus on Latin America history and  culture. As an award-winning historian and author on Latin America history and culture, and co-author and  editor of numerous publications and journals. His latest book project, “Frank Etheridge: Jazz Age Musician  of the African Diaspora,” which he co-edited, chronicles Etheridge’s experience playing in interracial  orchestras and for mixed audiences while traveling abroad during America’s Jim Crow era. 

In academia, Dr. Vinson has previously served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at George  Washington University, Director of the International Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University, Vice Dean for Centers, Interdisciplinary Programs and Graduate Education at Johns Hopkins University, and  Director/Founding Director of the Center for Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He has served as  a faculty member at Barnard College, Penn State University, Johns Hopkins University, and George  Washington University. 

Dr. Vinson was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2024 and is a member  of the American Antiquarian Society. He was also recently elected as president of the American Historical  Association. He serves on the Boards of the American Council of Education Board, Fulbright Scholar  Advisory Board, National Humanities Alliance, and National Humanities Center, among others. In 2024, Dr.  Vinson was named to the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100 list. 

President Vinson is married to Yolanda Fortenberry, Ph.D. They are the proud parents of daughter Allyson  and sons Ben and Brandon. 

Lamar Richards

Lamar Richards has dedicated his professional career to combating homelessness,
advancing affordability in policy and legislative action, and advancing health-equity
policies on the local and federal levels. Mr. Richards has emerged as a critical voice in
government relations with a diverse portfolio of public policy analyses and civic leadership
experiences.

As Chief Community Strategy Officer and Principal Consultant at Modern Consulting,
Richards advises a diverse portfolio of municipal and nonprofit clients throughout
Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, and the National Capital Region. His portfolio includes
advance stakeholder engagement, research and surveying, economic development
strategy and project management, and community development.

As a trained statistician, published research, and nonprofit practitioner, Lamar has led
served as Community and Economic Development Director of Dundee, Michigan, Senior
Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement at The Coalition in Washington, D.C.,
and an organizer at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Richards has a variety of
experience in creating and launching surveys, structuring and proposing tax incentives for
industrial and retail development, establishing robust economic development strategies
across local and regional jurisdictions, and directly fielding and writing grant opportunities.
Richards has made a significant impact on the Washington, D.C. community, including
working on the Comprehensive Community Development Model (CCDM) with the Deputy
Mayor of Economic Development’s O7ice and working alongside the DC O7ice of Planning
to lead the Deanwood Small-Area Planning Engagement e7orts. Richards has served as
state leader for several congressional-advocacy e7orts across multiple national
organizations, including the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), the National
Association for Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA), and the
National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC).

Richards earned his Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill and his Master of Arts in Government from Johns Hopkins University.

B. David Rowe

B. David Rowe is the former Managing Principal of AGB Consulting and current Project Director for In Trust’s Lilly-funded Governance Initiative for Theological Schools in North America, Rowe
advises higher education boards and presidents in the areas of leadership development, governance, and strategy. During his more than 30 years of leadership, Rowe has held presidencies at three independent institutions at the K-12, college, and graduate level. His higher education experience also includes serving as university trustee and as vice president for advancement.

Rowe earned a BS in Chemistry from Southwestern University in Georgetown Texas, an MDiv from Emory University, and a PhD in Educational Policy Studies from Georgia State University. He holds certificates in Ecumenical Studies from the University of Geneva, in Experience Economy from Strategic Horizons, LLP, and in Disruptive Strategy from Harvard Business School Online.

Rowe has served as board chair of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities as well as on other boards, including the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Associated Colleges of the South, and three NCAA Division I and Division III athletic conferences. His work has been discussed in Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, University Business, Trusteeship, In Trust Magazine, Huffington Post, and John Pulley’s Sweet Sixteen: Great Colleges of the South.

Jennifer E. Hobbs

Jennifer E. Hobbs is Senior Vice President, University Secretary, and Chief of Staff at The New School. She has been in higher education administration for fifteen years, working to remove impediments to institutional advancement and to develop efficient, data-driven, humanistic approaches to institutional decision making, processes, and policies.

In her role at The New School, she works in collaboration with the university President, institutional leaders, the Board of Trustees, university colleagues, and constituents to plan, coordinate, and advance the university’s vision and academic mission. Before moving to The New School in New York City, she served as Chief of Staff and Vice Provost in the Office of the Provost at Emory University. In her role at Emory, she represented the interests and priorities of the Provost and the Office of the Provost; coordinated and implemented the Provost’s priorities and initiatives; led internal operations; and maintained strong and effective relationships that advanced the work of the Office of the Provost, the Provost’s Leadership Team, and the Council of Deans (across Emory’s nine schools/colleges). Prior to Emory, she served as Assistant Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Training and Development in The Graduate School at Northwestern University. She contributed to numerous university efforts examining strategies and approaches to graduate education, research training, research space and planning, and institutional policies. Within The Graduate School she oversaw the Training Grant Support Office, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Professional Development. Her work supported close to a thousand postdoctoral fellows and numerous faculty members leading close to fifty federally funded institutional training grants and institutional career development awards. 

She obtained her B.S. in biology from Loyola University Chicago in 2001, and her Ph.D. in 2006 from The Graduate School of Northwestern University, via the Driskill Graduate Program in the Life Sciences located within Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She completed her postdoctoral training at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she was funded by an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellowship.