Tony Allen takes helm at Delaware State University on New Year’s Day

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On  New Year’s Day,  Dr. Tony Allen becomes the 12th President in the 129-year history of Delaware State University.

Allen succeeds Dr. Wilma Mishoe, who in September announced her retirement at the end of 2019.  Under recent presidents, DSU has moved up in the ranks of top Historically Black Colleges and Universities, ranking 13th in the most recent U.S. News listing.

Board of Trustees Chairperson Dr. Devona Williams said  that since he arrived at the institution in the summer of 2017 as Executive Vice President and Provost, “Tony has proven himself time and again with the imagination, tenacity, and integrity he brought to Delaware State University.”

The Board Chair added that “Tony will definitely be a non-traditional president. His strengths in business operations, organizational development, and collaboration with stakeholders combine to give our university a transformational leader who will shape its future growth.”

As Provost and Executive Vice President,  Allen led the redesign of the university’s academic colleges, the consolidation of academic advising  under the Office of Student Success, and realigned the priorities of Academic Affairs to make them consistent with the university’s strategic goals and key performance indicators.

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He was also instrumental in the formation of a Strategic Enrollment Division that, for the first time in the institution’s history, places all front-end student services in one  organization.  Allen was strongly involved in the strengthening of checks and balances that protect the University from liabilities.

Allen developed a plan to increase the University’s annual research portfolio from $20 million to $35 million in the next five to seven  years, as well as new educational, governmental, community and business partnerships to better position Delaware State University as a broad-based leader in the region.

Before joining DSU,  he worked  at Bank of America from 2006-2017, where he served first as a Communication Executive and last served as  Managing Director of Corporate Reputation. From 2004-2006,  Allen worked for MBNA America Bank in Wilmington, where he was a General Manager for the Vice President and was later promoted  to Executive Vice President.

He was the founding President of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League from 2000-2004. His work there earned him the National Urban League’s highest honor – the Whitney M. Young Award for Advancing Racial Equality.

He served as a speechwriter and Special Assistant for then U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. He also has been a Senior Policy Fellow for the University of Delaware’s Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration from 2003-present.

Allen holds a 1993 Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Delaware and a 1998 Master’s Degree in Public Administration in Nonprofit Management and Community Development from the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, Baruch College (CUNY).

He also holds a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware’s Joseph R. Biden Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration. 

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