As a litigator, Roslyn Clark Artis had wins in the courtroom. But it wasn’t until she was asked to teach a university class that she felt true success.
“I was surprised at the end of the class when a student wrote me a note that said, ‘You changed my life,’” Artis remembers. “Nothing like that ever happened when I was practicing law.”
In 2003, she resigned from her firm to become senior academic officer for distance education at West Virginia’s Mountain State University.
Artis decided to pursue a doctorate in higher education leadership and policy at Peabody College because of the program’s excellent reputation and cohort format.
The weekend-only schedule also allowed her to continue working at Mountain State, where she was appointed vice president of university advancement.
I recommend the program to everyone,” she said. “I think it’s a
game-changer.”
—Roslyn Clark Artis
“I had a phenomenal experience at Peabody,” Artis said. “I was amazed by what I learned about higher education policy and higher education finance, about social context and the research process. Being able to consult at another institution was incredibly useful for understanding the inner workings of the higher ed system.
“I recommend the program to everyone,” she said. “I think it’s a game-changer.”
She returned to Mountain State and was promoted to executive vice president and chief academic officer. In 2013, she took on a new professional challenge: interim president at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, the only historically black university in South Florida. The 135-year-old private institution has an enrollment of 1,600, 70 percent of whom are first-generation college students.
In 11 months, Artis increased fundraising at the university and led a successful effort to close a $3.5 million deficit. In February 2014, she was unanimously voted Florida Memorial’s 13th president and the first woman president in the university’s history.
Artis’ goals for the institution include strengthening its technology infrastructure, expanding online course offerings and ensuring that students in the school of education receive cutting-edge training.
She also hopes to capitalize on one of the university’s signature programs—aviation. With a campus located near the Miami airport, FMU boasts among its graduates Barrington Irving Jr., the youngest person to fly solo around the world. Two-thirds of the aviation students are women.
Artis acknowledges the responsibility of being chief decision-maker at the university often weighs heavily on her shoulders. “It’s worth it,” she said. “I love these kids. To have the ability to touch someone’s life and change their entire trajectory is incredible.”