North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has appointed Arwin D. Smallwood, ’88 (BA), '90 (MA), Ph.D., as dean of the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, effective June 1, 2024. He will report to David H. Jackson Jr., Ph.D., provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.
In this role, Smallwood will be tasked with joining the strategic development of NCCU’s goal of attaining Carnegie R2 classification and upgrading the university’s research profile to produce outstanding doctoral students and accomplished researchers. As dean, Smallwood will be responsible for administrative oversight for all aspects of academic life within the college, including fiscal management, personnel professional development, academic programs, research enterprises and student enrollment. He will also facilitate external initiatives that include community outreach, development and fundraising.
Smallwood currently serves as professor and chair of the department of history and political science at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he previously served as interim vice provost for undergraduate education. His earlier experience includes teaching and leadership roles at Bradley University and the University of Memphis.
An expert on the relationships between African Americans, Native Americans and Europeans in eastern North Carolina during the colonial and early antebellum periods, Smallwood is the author of several books, including, “NCA&T vs. NCCU: More Than Just a Game” (co-authored by Charles Johnson, Ph.D., chair of NCCU’s Department of History). He is the recipient of the Governor James E. Holshouser Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service and Library Resident Research Fellowship and Franklin Research Grant, both from the American Philosophical Society.
Smallwood is a life member of the American Historical Association, the Southern Historical Association and the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, and was inducted as a member of the North Caroliniana Society.
A native of Bertie County, North Carolina, he holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in history from NCCU, and a doctorate in early U.S. and African-American history from The Ohio State University. Smallwood serves or has served on several boards, including the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum; the Tryon Palace Commission; the advisory board for the North Carolina Historical Markers Commission; the Z. Smith Reynolds Art Grant Review Board; the Scholars Advisory Board for the Gilder Lehrman Institute; and the Historic Hope Foundation of Bertie County, North Carolina. Smallwood is the past president of the Historical Society of North Carolina.
Please welcome Dr. Arwin D. Smallwood back to North Carolina Central University!
