Kevin D. Howell is a law and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

graduate who has served in a number of leadership positions in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He was sworn in as the 15th

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

(NCSU) on May 5, 2025, replacing the previous chancellor of fifteen years Randy Woodson. His assumption to the role marks the first black chancellor and first chancellor to not have served an academia career in the university's history. Howell was born in

Shelby, North Carolina Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina. It lies near the western edge of the Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte-Concord, North Carolina, Concord, North Carolina, NC-South Carolina, SC Charlotte metropolitan a ...

. He graduated NCSU with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in political science in 1988, and the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

with a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in law in 1992. After working as a liaison for the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

under the state governors

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

and

Mike Easley Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of Governors of North Carolina, 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been ...

, Howell returned to work for NCSU in 2006 as the Assistant to the Chancellor for External Affairs. After a brief departure from the university in 2024, Howell returned nearly a year later to assume the role as chancellor, after being nominated by the UNC System President

Peter Hans Peter Hans is the current president of the University of North Carolina system. He previously served as the ninth president of the North Carolina Community College System, beginning in 2018. Early life and education Hans grew up in Southport and ...

. In a statement, Hans stated he supported the nomination of Howell as he believed he could handle the ongoing scandals regarding cancer-causing

Polychlorinated biphenyl Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula Carbon, C12Hydrogen, H10−''x''Chloride, Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectri ...

(PCBs) discovered on campus, potential cuts to research spending under the

second presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon Second inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration as the List of presidents of the United States, 47th president on January 20, 2025. On his first ...

, and other challenges upon taking office. According to a report by the university's student newspaper ''

Technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different special ...

'', much of the student body positively regards Howell.

Education and career

After studying

(NCSU), Howell earned his

in the field in 1988. During his senior year from 1987–1988, Howell also served as the first black

student body president The student government president (sometimes called a student body president, student council president, or simply a school president) is generally the highest-ranking officer of a student union. While a student government group and a class presi ...

of NCSU. Howell won against six other candidates by more than 50% of the vote, after a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

was called. Howell then graduated, and switched to studying law at the

, where he earned his

in the field in 1992. Between 1988 and 2006, Howell started his career as a legal clerk for the

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was create ...

, and later worked as a liaison for the

under democratic Governors

and

. In 2006, Howell left his other jobs to return to work at NCSU in various leadership positions. From 2006 to 2016, Howell served as the NCSU's Assistant to the Chancellor for External Affairs. Overlapping with the main position, Howell also served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni Affairs at NCSU from 2009 to 2010 and interim Vice Chancellor for University Advancement at NCSU from 2013 to 2014. Afterwards, Howell served as the head of the UNC System's Division of External Affairs from 2016 to 2018, Vice Chancellor for External Affairs, Partnerships and Economic Development from 2018 to 2023. Starting February 1, 2024, Howell announced his departure from NCSU once again to take a position as the Chief External Affairs Officer for UNC Health and the

UNC School of Medicine The University of North Carolina School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It offers a Doctor of Medicine degree, along with combined Doctor of Medicine with Doctor of Philosophy degree and Doctor ...

. Then-chancellor of NCSU Randy Woodson announced Howell "will be greatly missed", regarding the help he brought to him and towards building relations with local and federal officials as particularly impactful. In 2025, Howell was also serving as a member on the directors board for the UNC Law School Foundation, on the advisory board for the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NCSU, of the

North Carolina Symphony The North Carolina Symphony (NCS) is an American orchestra based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with sixty-six full-time musicians. The orchestra performs in Meymandi Concert Hall and performs occasionally with the Carolina Ballet and the Opera Co ...

, on the executive committee of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, on the executive committee of myFutureNC, and on the executive committee of the

Association of Public and Land-grant Universities The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization of public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and higher education organizations. It has member c ...

' Commission on Economic & Community Engagement.

Assumption as chancellor

Despite Howell's departure from NCSU on February 1, 2024, only around a year later on March 12, 2025, information was first rumored that Howell was to return to the university to replace Woodson as the next chancellor. Woodson, who by this point had served as the university's chancellor for 15 years, confirmed the news on March 18. The assumption of the position made Howell the first black chancellor of the university, first chancellor to not have served as a career academic, and first chancellor since 1998 to also be a university alumni. Howell also assumed office over the largest student body of the 17 universities in the UNC school system, which NCSU held with 39,000 students at the time. Howell's assumption was made official by the UNC System Board of Governors, after he was nominated by the system's President

, and was among four finalists endorsed by the Board of Trustees. Han's reiterated his approval for Howell in a statement that he was "well-suited to the greatest challenge that higher education faces in our fraught moment", referring to scandals regarding the diagnosis of more than 200 people with cancer traced back to

(PCBs) found in Poe Hall and other areas of NCSU's campus, potential cuts to research spending as part of the

, and other challenges Howell would have to face upon taking office. He is set to assume his position as chancellor on May 5, 2025, with a starting salary of . According to a report by the university's student newspaper ''

'', much of the student body positively regarded Howell, particularly from his early interactions with students after the announcement, and his history as an alumni and leader at the university.

Personal life

Kevin D. Howell was born in

in Cleveland County. He is married to Aleta Howell, and has two daughters, one of whom was a 2023 NCSU College of Textiles graduate. On October 30, 2015, a blood test diagnosed Howell with double

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

s, a condition which became nearly fatal for him. On February 2, 2016, Howell received a transplant kidney from an assistant of Chancellor Woodson, Lindsay Recchie, an action which both saved his life and led Recchie to receive Governor's Award for Excellence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Kevin 20th-century American political scientists African-American political scientists Chancellors of North Carolina State University Kidney transplant recipients Living people North Carolina State University alumni People from Shelby, North Carolina University of North Carolina School of Law alumni