Education 2024: JAVAUNE ADAMS-GASTON

Under Adams-Gaston’s leadership since 2019, Norfolk State has racked up achievements ranging from regularly ranking among U.S. News & World Report’s top 20 historically Black colleges and universities to attaining a 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

The public university also has attracted big-dollar donations, from grants of more than $53 million for scholarships and student support to a one-time gift of $40 million from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2021.

Adams-Gaston has led NSU’s online curriculum expansion to include master’s degrees in cybersecurity and cyber psychology. She has played key roles in forging partnerships with companies such as Netflix, Apple and Amazon.

She also serves on President Joe Biden’s HBCUs advisory board and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Her term on the NCAA Board of Governors ended in August.

Before joining Norfolk State, Adams-Gaston was senior vice president for student life at Ohio State University and held executive positions at the University of Maryland. She holds a doctorate from Iowa State University.