Confessions of a Black Academic: A Memoir
In his latest book, Confessions of a Black Academic: A Memoir, retired university president Alvin J. Schexnider shares his deeply personal experiences as an African American academician and the blatant racial challenges he navigated and the signal achievements that defined a forty-year career. A political scientist and expert on urban policy, Schexnider applies his unique lens to take the reader on a journey from the early days of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity to the current era of diversity, equity, and inclusion that is currently being dismantled.
The webinar will feature highlights of the book and its implications for the recruitment and retention of Black faculty.
Date & Time: Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 1:00 - 2:00 PM
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About Alvin,
Alvin J. Schexnider, is managing principal at Schexnider & Associates, LLC where he consults on board governance, strategy and provides executive coaching. Before retiring in 2007 he was executive vice president and interim president at Norfolk State University. A former chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, he has held faculty and administrative positions at public and private institutions including Syracuse University, Virginia Commonwealth University the University of North Carolina Greensboro and Wake Forest University.
A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Schexnider earned a B.A. degree in political science at Grambling State University. He received the M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern University where he held Norman Wait Harris, Ford Foundation and Woodrow Wilson fellowships.
Schexnider is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a Senior Fellow at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the J. Sergeant Reynolds Award for Outstanding Service in Public Administration, The Grambling State University Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Alpha Phi Alpha Distinguished Educator of the Year Award, and the Urban League Silver Star Award for Education. He is also a member of the Grambling State University Hall of Fame.
Schexnider is the author of Saving Black Colleges (Palgrave Macmillan 2013) and the co-author of Blacks and the Military (Brookings Institution 1982). During the pandemic he completed two books: Mayfield and Schexnider: Portrait of a Family (Shortwood Press 2022) that won an international book award and Confessions of a Black Academic: A Memoir (McFarland Publishing 2024). His articles have appeared in the Chronicle of higher Education, Diverse, Inside Higher Ed and Trusteeship. Previously, he served on the editorial boards of Public Administration Review and the Journal of Power and Ethics. Schexnider was featured in two documentaries regarding construction of the Alaska Canada Highway, one produced for American Legacy in 2003 and another produced for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) American Experience Series in 2005.
Schexnider serves on several boards including the Center for Minority-serving Institutions at Rutgers University and the Hampton Roads Prostate Health Forum. He is a former member of Board of Visitors of Virginia State University, the Board of Trustees of Excelsior College and the Board of Trustees of Virginia Wesleyan University.
Schexnider enjoys a long record of public service to the Commonwealth of Virginia as reflected in seven gubernatorial appointments He is a former Chairman of the Executive Committee of Richmond Renaissance, Inc. and former Chairman of the Southern Regional Council of the College Board. He is married and the father of a son and a daughter, and he has two grandchildren.
