Pollard to Receive Dr. Dorothy C. Yancy Vanguard Award

Dr. Leslie N. PollardOakwood University President Dr. Leslie N. Pollard has been named the recipient of the Dr. Dorothy C. Yancy Vanguard Award, bestowed upon HBCU presidents who demonstrate steady and transformative leadership.

“It is a profound honor to be recognized with the Dr. Dorothy C. Yancy Vanguard Award,” said Pollard.

The award, presented by the Higher Education Leadership Foundation (H.E.L.F.), honors Yancy’s legacy as a scholar among African American women known for her work as an American academic, professor, and administrator.

The Fulbright scholar was the first African American to achieve tenured professor status at Georgia Institute of Technology. Yancy left Georgia Tech in 1994 to become the president of Johnson C. Smith in North Carolina, and she accepted the presidency at Shaw University in 2009.

The Dr. Dorothy C. Yancy Vanguard Award honors the legacy of Dr. Dorothy C. Yancy.“Dr. Yancy was one of my role models and offered me sage advice at the beginning of my presidency of Oakwood,” said Pollard. “While I am humbled to accept this award, it is in no way a testament to my individual efforts, but I accept it on behalf of the collective sacrifices of the Oakwood University administration, faculty, staff, students, and alumni.”

Pollard represents a select few individuals who have stood the test of time and clearly demonstrated strong leadership during her tenure at Oakwood University, according to Wiley University President Dr. Herman J. Felton Jr., who is also the founding principal of H.E.L.F.

“Dr. Pollard’s recognition with the Dr. Dorothy C. Yancy Vanguard Award underscores his unwavering commitment to his leadership of Oakwood University through numerous challenges, including COVID, that has sustained his HBCU during a time of instability and uncertainty in higher education, particularly within the HBCU community,” said Felton.