Yolanda W. Page, Ph.D. is a transformational leader who has held leadership roles as a provost, vice president for academic affairs, dean, assistant dean, department chairperson, and program director during her 29-year higher education career.

Dr. Page has led innovative academic and co-curricular initiatives that have increased the academic profile of each institution at which she has served. She has also secured or influenced approximately $40 million in private and government funding.

Dr. Page’s administrative experience spans public and private institutions. Prior to her appointment at Stillman College, she served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Savannah State University, and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Dillard University, a private HBCU that consistently has a national ranking among the top 15 HBCUs.

Under Dr. Page’s leadership, the profile of Dillard’s academic programs increased. The university’s biology (ranked 9th) and film (ranked 13th) majors were named top programs among Study.com’s 2021 Top-Ranked Schools. Intelligent.com’s 2021 ranking for small business management degree programs placed Dillard at 29th, and Learn.org ranked Dillard 24th in communications bachelor’s degree programs (2020).

In addition, at Dillard Dr. Page led the development of several academic and co-curricular initiatives, including a masters degree in nursing, a certificate in urban water management, a medical physics concentration, a food studies minor, a pre-health advising program, a Center for Racial Justice, and a nationally recognized pre-law program. In addition, Dr. Page introduced hybrid and online learning at Dillard which resulted in 50% of faculty being Quality Matters certified, an online degree program in criminal justice, and an asynchronous winter term session.

She was dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), the only public HBCU and the second oldest public college or university in the state of Arkansas, and she was the inaugural Title III and Student Success Director at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), a public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Dr. Page earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Business Management from Dillard University and the Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy degrees in American and African American Literature from Louisiana State University (LSU). Dr. Page has studied abroad in Ghana as a UNCF/Mellon International Faculty Seminar Fellow and is a certified Supplemental Instruction Supervisor and has completed the California State University Certificate Program in Student Success Analytics. She has worked extensively with high-risk students, first-generation students, and learning communities.

Dr. Page has successfully led SACSCOC Fifth-Year (five-year) and Reaffirmation (ten-year) processes. She completed the SACSCOC Academic Peer Evaluator Training Workshop and has served on several off-site and on-site accreditation committees. In addition, she has successfully supervised the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) accreditation and Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) re-accreditation processes.

Dr. Page has received several awards in recognition of her leadership including the Council of Independent Colleges(CIC) Chief Academic Officer Award (2020), and Diverse: Issues in Higher Education recognized her as one of 25 outstanding women in higher education (2017). She has completed the American Council on Education (ACE), Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), and Millennial Leadership Institute (MLI) leadership development programs.

Dr. Page has presented literary papers, published chapters in books, written several articles about African American literature, and published two sourcebooks including Encyclopedia of African American Women Writers (named a New York Library Association Best of Reference) and Icons of African American Literature.

Dr. Page is married to David D. Page, a higher education professional; they have two children, William and Brooke. She is a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a member of Jack and Jill of America.