RamPages: News and Events for Faculty and Staff

“I am thrilled to have gone from being an au pair in France in my youth to a Fulbright,” Merrills said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I foresee while I was scrubbing floors and changing diapers in France as an au pair that I would one day return as a Fulbright.”

Dr. Dawn Hicks Tafari, an associate professor of education at Winston-Salem State University, approaches life with purpose and passion. She believes that her intentional dedication to teaching has played a key role in her selection as recipient of the 2025 University of North Carolina Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

A team of researchers, led by Dr. Muztaba Fuad, professor and interim chair of computer science at Winston-Salem State University, are pioneering the use of mobile apps to make healthcare work more efficient. WSSU students are helping with the research by tracking their own movements and postures.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr., two members of the Ramily were recognized during a joint program of Winston-Salem State University and Wake Forest University on the official federal holiday honoring the civil rights icon. Student Nia James and faculty member Maestra D’Walla Simmons-Burke were the 2025 honorees.

Winston-Salem State University is committed to preparing students to excel and lead, to act compassionately and to rise above challenges with the strength and spirit of a true Ram. On Dec. 13, WSSU celebrated its Fall 2024 graduating class as they departed to serve to make an impact on the global society. Here is a glimpse of where a few students are headed:

Winston-Salem State University received nearly half a million dollars to launch a new initiative focused on fostering a safe and supportive environment while addressing and preventing domestic violence. The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women, awarded a $499,976 grant to RamsSafe.

As I reflect on my first months as Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, I am inspired by the incredible accomplishments of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Homecoming was a highlight of my time here. It was incredible to watch generations of the Ramily come together to celebrate all that is wonderful about WSSU.

Winston-Salem State University’s new advancement leadership team is poised to enhance alumni and community engagement, as well as philanthropic contributions. Kevan Turman is the new vice chancellor for University Advancement; and John D. Kirby Jr. is assistant vice chancellor.

Winston-Salem State University has formed a groundbreaking alliance with Cisco, a global technology leader, that will enhance student employability, bolster faculty and staff resources, and strengthen the university’s infrastructure. The transformative agreement was officially signed Oct. 29 during an on-campus ceremony.

The Winston-Salem State University Department of Education hosted a grand opening of its newly renovated Curriculum Materials Center (CMC) and Innovative Teaching Lab on Oct. 3, as well as unveiled a new Mobile STEAM Lab: Bringing Classrooms to Communities.

Winston-Salem State University has received a $400,000 National Science Foundation grant that will integrate esports into its computer science education program. This project will help WSSU improve computer science education and attract new underrepresented minority students to pursue a computer science degree.

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded nearly $4 million to Winston-Salem State University to establish a Research Center of Excellence. Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman made the announcement during a press conference on WSSU’s campus following her visit with students.

Winston-Salem State University Office of Emergency Management (OEM) personnel have been deployed to UNC Asheville to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene while the WSSU campus holds a drive to help peer institutions impacted by the storm. Jason Stogner, director of OEM, was deployed on Sept. 28, and Sarah Isom, assistant director, left Sept. 30.

Winston-Salem State University is honored to announce a historic first meeting between Chancellor Bonita Brown and Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah, Minister of Education of the Republic of Liberia. The meeting took place on Sept. 30 on the WSSU campus and marks an important landmark in fostering bilateral collaboration in higher education.

The Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and the S.G. Atkins Honor Society will host induction ceremonies for each group from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29, at Dillard Auditorium in the Anderson Center. This will be the first induction ceremony for Phi Kappa Phi. WSSU's chapter was installed in January.

Winston-Salem State University officially became a StormReady campus during a Recognition Ceremony on Sept. 17. Nick Petro, warning coordination meteorologist of the National Weather Service (NWS), Raleigh office, read the official letter and designation during the program and presented it to Jason Stogner, director of the WSSU Office of Emergency Management.

As Winston-Salem State University launches into the 2024-2025 academic year, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Anthony Graham, announced the following new and acting appointments in the Divisions of Academic and Student Affairs.

This is a special year for Dr. Fran Bates Oates, who has 50 reasons to celebrate. This year marks her 50th anniversary as an educator and is also her 50th class reunion at Winston-Salem State University as a member of the Class of 1974.

Winston-Salem State University will officially become a StormReady campus during a recognition ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 2 p.m. in the Donald J. Reaves Center, Room 100A, featuring Nicholas “Nick” Petro, warning coordination meteorologist of the National Weather Service in Raleigh.

Winston-Salem State University was awarded a $370,000 grant to better prepare students for STEM jobs. The award is a part of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC) program.

Encourages campus to get excited about change

Employees of Winston-Salem State University got a chance to hear from its 14th Chancellor Bonita Brown during the annual faculty and staff kickoff Aug. 14 at Dillard Auditorium on the campus of WSSU. It was Brown’s first address to the campus community as it prepares for the new academic school year.

The Department of Education at Winston-Salem State University has been awarded a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). 

Winston-Salem State University’s Office of Integrated Marketing Communications has won two Telly Awards for a recruitment video in the record-breaking 45th Annual Telly Awards.

Bonita J. Brown has been named the 14th Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University. She was elected by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, following her nomination by University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans. Brown will assume her role on July 1, 2024.

This class was unique as it was the class that felt the disruptions of the global pandemic as students transitioned from high school graduates to college freshmen. Their high school graduations were mostly likely in person and college orientations were shackled by social distancing.

The Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction (CITI) recognized its Class of 2024 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Credentialed Educators and micro-credential completers. The pinning ceremony was held May 14 at the Bermuda Run Country Club.

Winston-Salem State University partners with the Winston-Salem Dash minor league baseball team for WSSU Night at the Dash on Thursday, April 25. The game will feature the WSSU band, Powerhouse cheerleaders and Amon the Ram. Admissions' representatives will also be on site.

Winston-Salem State University’s Office of Integrated Marketing Communications was named among the top in the nation in the 2023 Collegiate Advertising Awards Program.

On Monday, April 1 Winston-Salem State University kicks off Scholarship Week 2024: A Gallery of Genius. WSSU students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend biggest academic event of the year that shines a spotlight on how scholars from all disciplines Unleash their Genius.

Join us for the second annual Cancer Awareness Event.  Thursday, March 21 will feature a panel discussion on the different types of cancer.  The panelists will feature representatives from the local healthcare community. The following day, Friday, March 22 enjoy a variety of interactive events taking place at WSSU's practice field.

Winston-Salem State University is taking steps to ensure that students learn how to use artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly and ethically. More than 200 students are studying various ways to develop and use AI in courses such as art, world films, statistics, chemistry, English, business ethics, and exercise science.

Winston-Salem State University’s Department of Physical Therapy is looking for participants for a study titled: “Evaluation of segmental lumbar spinal motion and physiological responses following common spinal mobilization techniques.”

Technology provider CollegeNET ranks Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) No. 2 in the United States for being a driver of social mobility for its students. Social mobility, as defined by CollegeNET, involves delivering a high-quality college education at an affordable price to create opportunities for students to move from one socioeconomic class to another.

The schools, Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) and Southern University Law Center (SULC) join more than 200 private, nonprofit and governmental organizations across the country that have received Gold Standard accreditation.

N.C. Governor Roy Cooper visited Winston-Salem State University recently to discuss diversity in education. The visit on Nov. 17 was the final stop on the DRIVE Task Force’s statewide tour. DRIVE stands for Developing a Representative and Inclusive Vision for Education.

In February 2023 the Winston-Salem State University Chancellor’s Executive Staff issued a request for proposals for faculty and staff to create programs designed to improve undergraduate student success outcomes focused explicitly on student retention, student engagement, student belonging, and student debt load.

Healthcare Management’s Global Understanding Class will be collecting items for gift bags through Nov. 15 to be presented to the homeless population. The bags will be delivered to the Samaritan Ministry on Nov. 17.

WSSU’s Forever Red Homecoming is the time to celebrate Winston-Salem State University’s spirit and respect some of our most beloved traditions. By celebrating all the wonderful things about being a Ram, it is advised to be cautious while enjoying the festivities of WSSU Homecoming.

Winston-Salem State University will host its first esports competitive event this month to further expose students to the growing gaming industry. WSSU Campus Clash will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the University Recreation Game Room and Salon on campus.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Hossein Khalili as the Senior Associate Dean for the School of Health Sciences. Dr. Khalili is an internationally recognized scholar, expert, and leader in the field of interprofessional education. He has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare, 15 of which are in higher education. 

Winston-Salem State University has become the first university in the country to partner with Spentys to use 3D printing technology to produce high-quality, economic orthotic splints and introduce that technology into its occupational therapy curriculum.

I am especially pleased to welcome Dr. LaToya McNeill Wiley back to WSSU. Effective August 3, 2023, Dr. Wiley will serve as the Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for Financial Planning and Budget.

Winston-Salem State University professor of psychological sciences Dr. Michele K. Lewis has been named a 2023-2024 Fulbright Canada Distinguished Chair in Arts and Social Sciences in Canada and North America.

On May 1, 2023 Winston-Salem State University celebrated its Faculty Awards and Research and Sponsored Program Banquet. WSSU honored faculty and staff members for excellence in teaching, research, and procuring grant funding.

Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) will celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2023 at a Commencement Ceremony at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial (LJVM) Coliseum on Friday, May 12.

Another Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) Commencement is upon us, as graduates depart to serve. Here's a glimpse of where a few students from the Class of Spring 2023 are headed. 

Dr. Elva J. Jones is professor and founding and current chair of the Department of Computer Science at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), a position she has held since 1991. 

For the second year in a row, Winston-Salem State University has been selected for a Home Depot® Retool Your School Award. WSSU was in the top 10 HBCUs to win the award.

We are only halfway through April 2023 and Winston-Salem State University students, faculty, and staff are unleashing their genius on our campus, at the North Carolina House of Representatives, and at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Here’s a quick overview.

The Hickory Council, Boy Scouts of America will hold its annual Distinguished Citizen Award event on Thursday, April 27, 2023, to recognize Dr. Elwood Robinson, chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, who has shown to personify the spirit of Scouting.

Dr. Keisha G. Rogers, Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling at Winston-Salem State University received the Professional Writing and Research Award at the North Carolina Counseling Association (NCCA) Annual Conference, held on February 10-11, 2023, in Durham, NC.

The Center for Applied Data Science (CADS) at Winston-Salem State University hosted the 2023 Day Data Science Workshop for High School Students in early March. The workshop was funded by a grant from University of North Carolina System and received support from Hanes Brands, Inc.

Winston-Salem State University congratulates the faculty members listed below who received promotions and/or tenure in 2021-2022.

After an internal search process, I am pleased to announce the interim appointment of Dr. Montrale Boykin as the interim Dean of the Graduate College effective December 1, 2022. Dr. Boykin’s appointment is for one year. We will conduct a national search for a permanent dean during the 2023 calendar year. Dr. Boykin previously served as the co-chairperson of the Department of Health Care Management in the School of Health Sciences at Winston-Salem State University since 2012.

Winston-Salem State University ranks high on a diverse group of national lists, especially in the areas of value, affordability, and student success.

Here is a list of some of WSSU’s notable rankings for 2022-2023.

The campus of Winston-Salem State University has become even more beautiful, thanks to a $20,000 grant from the Home Depot Retool Your School initiative. Home Depot is dedicated to giving back to the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to honor what HBCUs bring to their communities “a strong foundation, renewed purposed and distinctive character.”

Winston-Salem State University has earned a high ranking for its online Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program. EduMed.org named the WSSU online MHA program no. 5 in the nation based on quality, accessibility, affordability and commitment to student success. 

Winston-Salem State University alum actor Chris Greene portrays an assistant chaplain in the Netflix hit true crime drama “DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” In the limited series, viewers are walked through the upbringing of one of the most notorious serial killers in history, the warnings neighbors made concerning his behavior, how he lured his victims, his capture, and ultimately, his trial.

Winston-Salem State University employee Tiffany Turner Lynch was awarded the prestigious Governor’s Award for Excellence in the category of Efficiency and Innovation. 

Winston-Salem State University has been awarded a $525,658 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) led by Dr. Fenghai Guo Professor of Chemistry to develop and utilize highly selective metal-catalyzed carbon bond formation reactions that will lead to an efficient synthesis of novel selenium, sulfur, and oxygen-containing heterocycles with rich biological activities. 

Winston-Salem State University has been awarded a $30,000.00 grant from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund led by Dr. Karen T. Williams, Director of the A. H. Ray Student Health Center, to conduct rapid COVID testing of students who present with symptoms of COVID and testing of students who are exposed to COVID.