Women Making Inroads in Higher Education:

A Talk with Dr. Charlene Gilbert

In the field of higher education, where leadership is overwhelmingly male, Dr. Charlene Gilbert’s ascension is a rarity. Overall, women make up 39 percent of university provosts and 30 percent of presidents. However, when it comes to women of color, the numbers plummet to six percent of provosts, and Black women make up a mere two percent of university presidents in the U.S. 

Yet, in 2023, when Gilbert became provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, the chief academic officer overseeing the quality of a CAU education, she joined a juggernaut of women who comprise 60 percent of the university's executive cabinet. Gilbert credits the healthy ratios, some of the best she’s seen in her career, to President Georgia T. French, Jr., Ph.D. “He built a strong leadership team and sought out talent wherever he could find it,” Gilbert said. 

The women who lead CAU join a rich history of Black women in education, one that includes luminaries like Anna J. Cooper and Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, the first Black woman president to lead Spelman College. “She just creates a new standard for how you can engage and be with your community in a way that’s clear and filled with love,” Gilbert said of Cole, whom she considers a role model.

Raised by graduates of Tuskegee University, Gilbert landed at CAU after climbing steep stairs in ivory towers like the Ohio State University, where she previously served as Senior Vice Provost for Student Academic Excellence. Her trajectory to Provost, the position from which most university presidents ascend, was non-traditional and will refresh those who aspire to carve their own path in higher ed.

Provost Charlene Gilbert, Ph.D., sixth from left, at the 2024 UNCF Mayor's Masked Ball in Atlanta, Georgia.

A documentary filmmaker by training, Gilbert joined the academy at SUNY Buffalo in the Department of Media Study, where she fell in love with teaching. From there, with work life balance being one of the challenges for women in higher education, Gilbert chose her roles carefully to honor her priorities as a mom.

“The challenge is trying to figure out how to pace your career in a way that matches all of your goals both personally and professionally,” she said.

The future careers of CAU students are a priority for Gilbert, whose goal is to engage CAU alumni to hire students for summer jobs, internships, and other opportunities that accelerate professional development. Her long-term commitment is to the advancement of academic excellence at CAU. If CAUs rise to the top 20 HBCUs, according to US News and World Report, and the renewal to its classification as an R2 Doctoral University status are any indication, the future for CAU, and Gilbert, are bright

While women in senior leadership roles in higher education are still underrepresented, CAU stands out with majority-women administrative and executive cabinets.

THE PANTHER SCENE