The University of North Carolina (UNC) Board of Governors has named Darrell T. Allison, ’94, as the 12th chancellor of Fayetteville State University. He will begin his duties on March 15, 2021.
Allison’s career has been directed toward advocating on behalf of educational opportunities for underserved families in North Carolina and across the nation.
In his current job as vice president of Governmental Affairs and State Teams at the American Federation for Children, he leads advocacy programs and generates philanthropic support while developing effective partnerships for the organization.
He also previously served as president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, a statewide organization that advocates for and informs parents about educational options.
“Chancellor-elect Darrell T. Allison serves as a pioneering North Carolina Central University graduate who paves the way for aspiring scholars,” said NCCU Chancellor Johnson O. Akinleye.
“On behalf of NCCU’s Board of Trustees, students, faculty, staff and alumni, I offer congratulations to our esteemed alumnus and former member of our Board of Trustees. The Eagle community is excited about this milestone achievement for Chancellor-elect Allison, who is also a generous supporter of our institution. I know that he believes in the transformative power of higher education and continuously demonstrates his commitment and passion as an advocate for those seeking higher education.”
A longtime supporter of NCCU, Allison created an endowed scholarship totaling $75,000 in 2017. The Darrell and Thomas Allison Endowed Scholarship Fund, which are both named after Allison and his father, support undergraduate students from the Cabarrus County, N.C., area. Both are designated for freshman students with a high-school GPA of 3.2 or higher who have demonstrated financial need, as determined by NCCU’s Office of Scholarships and Student Aid.
Allison was a member of the UNC Board of Governors from 2017-2020. As the inaugural chair of the Historically Minority-Serving Institutions (HMSI) Committee, he was instrumental in initiatives that led to a $2 million investment in renovations and maintenance on the 17 campuses. Allison also successfully advocated for a multi-million-dollar upgrade for fundraising software and data management for universities that resulted in substantial savings and strengthened fundraising programs.
Allison’s initiated a partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s NC Policy Collaboratory through which $6 million has been awarded to historically minority-serving institutions for COVID-19 programming and research.
As a member of the UNC Board of Governors, Allison served on several committees, including as chair of the UNC System Racial Equity Task Force; secretary of Policies and Programs; and as a member of Budget and Finance, Educational Planning, Strategic Initiatives, and the UNC K-12 Laboratory Schools.
Allison also served as a member of the NCCU Board of Trustees from 2015 to 2017. As a trustee, he participated on the following committees: Endowment Board; Advancement, Athletics and External Affairs; and Academic and Student Affairs. He was also a member of the Chancellor Search Committee.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from NCCU and a juris doctor degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
