Christine Johnson McPhail

Christine Johnson McPhail
13th President of St. Augustine's University
In office
February 24, 2021 – December 2023
Preceded byIrving Pressley McPhail
Succeeded byLeslie Rodriguez-McClellon (acting)
Personal details
Spouse
Irving Pressley McPhail
​
​
(m. 1998; died 2020)​
EducationFresno City College
Fresno State University
University of Southern California

Christine Johnson McPhail is an American academic administrator who was the thirteenth president of St. Augustine's University from 2021 to 2023.

Life

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McPhail was born to Mary and Otis Johnson.[1] Her mother was a homemaker and her father was a sharecropper who later started a small business in Tyler, Texas.[2] She was raised in a rural town in East Texas.[1] She attended from Emmett Scott High School.[2] McPhail graduated from Fresno City College and earned a bachelor's degree in social work from Fresno State University.[2] She worked for the Economic Opportunities Commission as a social worker for Head Start.[2] She completed a master's degree in education and counseling from Fresno State University.[2]

McPhail began a doctoral program at University of California, Berkeley while working as a counselor at Contra Costa College.[2] She later became an assistant dean of students and was promoted to dean at College of Alameda.[2] With the full-time position, she paused her doctoral studies.[2] She later transferred to a part-time D.Ed. program in higher education at University of Southern California.[2][3] Her 1987 dissertation was titled, Academically Underprepared Students in the California Community Colleges.[4] Clive Grafton was her doctoral chairperson.[4]

McPhail became president of Cypress College in 1995.[5] She was its first Black and first female president.[5] She stepped down in June 1998 after marrying her husband, Irving Pressley McPhail.[5] She later joined Morgan State University as the founding professor and director of its community college leadership doctoral program.[6] McPhail was later a professor of practice at the John E. Roueche Center for Community College Leadership at Kansas State University.[6] Following the death of her husband due to COVID-19 in October 2020, she was selected to succeed him as the thirteenth president of St. Augustine's University effective February 24, 2021.[7][6] Her presidency ended in December 2023 and she was succeeded by acting president Leslie Rodriguez-McClellon.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ a b Watson, Jamal (2021-02-24). "Saint Augustine's University Finds a Visionary Leader in Dr. Christine Johnson McPhail". Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Watson, Jamal (2018-04-16). "McPhail Rallies Around College Access". Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  3. ^ "Christine Johnson McPhail Is the New President of Saint Augustine's University in North Carolina". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  4. ^ a b Johnson, Christine Bessard (1987). Academically Underprepared Students in the California Community Colleges (D.Ed. thesis). University of Southern California Digital Library (USC.DL). doi:10.25549/usctheses-c30-391231.
  5. ^ a b c Thrift, Anastasia (2021-03-11). "Former Cypress President to Lead University". Cypress College. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  6. ^ a b c "Christine Johnson McPhail succeeds late husband as Saint Augustine's University president". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  7. ^ "Saint Augustine's University Announces the Appointment of Dr. Christine Johnson McPhail as the University's 13th President". Saint Augustine's University. 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  8. ^ Kyaw, Arrman (2023-12-05). "Trouble at Saint Augustine's University". Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  9. ^ Moody, Josh (December 6, 2023). "Saint Augustine's President Fired, Accreditation Stripped". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
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