Saunders-White leaves NCCU with MEAC crown, enrollment up, freshman GPAs at 3.22

On November 26, North Carolina Central University (NCCU) received the sad news that Chancellor Debra Saunders-White had died after a battle with cancer.

Saunders-White was a first-rate leader whose many accomplishments have created a brighter future for NCCU.

The Eagles won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football championship in 2016 and played in the second annual Celebration Bowl, which was broadcast by ABC. That appearance on national television provided another boost to the “enhanced recruitment efforts” Saunders-White implemented to help the university.

NCCU had two straight years of falling enrollment caused by the federal financial aid program overhaul in 2011. Enrollment went from 8,604 in Fall 2012 to 8,093 in Fall 2013. It then went down again in Fall 2014 to 7,687.

But NCCU Saunders-White, who started on June 1, 2013, reversed the enrollment drop and brought in a strong class of freshman students. The NCCU freshmen in Fall 2015 had an average GPA of 3.21 and overall enrollment went up to 8,011.

The new freshman class that just began at NCCU in Fall 2016 has an average GPA of 3.22.

Saunders-White’s successful recruitment program also led to a big increase in applications at NCCU. According to the Campus Echo, “Also topping last year’s record is the number of applicants. Last year, there were 13,646 applicants, and this year, that number grew to more than 17,100, a whopping increase of 3,454.”

Historically black colleges and universities need more top administrators like Saunders-White, who get results in expanding enrollment with high achieving students.