Candidate Profile for President-Elect

You are here: NAASS > Candidate Profile for President-Elect

Lowell K. Davis, PhD

Associate Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs and Student Success
Western Carolina University

Lowell K. Davis is a native of Dallas, Texas. Lowell graduated from Hampton University with a bachelor’s degree in English Arts-Secondary Education. There, he served in the capacities of Student Government Association President and Vice President, and was voted “Most Likely to Succeed/Be on the Cover of Ebony Magazine.” His master’s degree is in Counseling, with an emphasis on College Student Development; he also holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs, with an emphasis on the History of Education.

Today, Lowell serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Success at Western Carolina University, located in the mountains of western North Carolina, where he manages the institution’s student support units, in addition to administering summer session. Summer session at WCU has experienced enrollment increases year over year, and several new programs, both residential and non-residential, have been implemented in the past 6 years. He came to WCU from the University of Alabama (“Roll Tide!”) where he rose through the ranks of both Academic and Student Affairs.

Outside of work, Lowell serves as the Polemarch/President of the Asheville Alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, and recently completed an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellowship for 2018-2019 at the University of California-Davis. Additionally, he is a Paul Harris Fellow for Rotary International. At the core of Lowell’s professional and community activities is a strong appreciation for building relationships. Whether he is working with students, community members, coworkers or strangers, Lowell is always endeavoring to build bridges and strengthen his community.

LOWELL’s personal thoughts on NAASS

NAASS provides an invaluable and unparalleled resource to summer session administrators— professionals who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and expertise. This organization synthesizes these disciplines to maximize the benefit to its members. It provides a tremendous network and helps summer session administrators to share best practices and common thoughts about what we can do to increase persistence rates and advocate for student success.

Lowell’s vision for NAASS if he’s elected, including the goals he would focus on during his time as President and how they would help advance NAASS in achieving its mission

If elected to the role of President, I will emphasize NAASS’s strengths: we will continue to capitalize on our regional and annual conferences as opportunities to share lessons learned, new ideas, and resolve burning questions. I will focus on driving regional membership: inviting community colleges into the organization and including senior administrators from all institutions to join the conversation. It will be a priority to deepen NAASS’ nationwide impact as a thought leader in our areas of expertise. I will work to establish and publish NAASS-endorsed best practices. I would also like to partner with both member and non-member institutions to engage with graduate students in applicable disciplines, providing a window into summer term administration and its multifaceted demands.

The potential impact of these efforts would make us a more welcoming, inclusive resource for summer term administrators from two-year community colleges to professional and graduate schools, and all the many institutions that fall on the spectrum between. In its current state, NAASS is a strong organization with a solid commitment to its work. I believe the efforts listed above will deepen our resources, grow our ranks, and help to spread our good work beyond the bounds of the organization.