Ben Vinson III is an American historian, currently serving as the 18th president of

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

since September 2023. He served as provost of

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

from 2018 to 2023 and as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at George Washington University from 2013 to 2018.

Biography

Early life and education

Vinson is originally from

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek (South Dakota), Rapid Creek, where the settlement deve ...

, and spent part of his childhood on military bases in Italy. His father was a

master sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, and his mother was an elementary school teacher. He attended

Bishop Ireton High School Bishop Ireton High School is a Catholic Church, Catholic high school located in Alexandria, Virginia, less than one mile from Old Town Alexandria. The school was founded in 1964 by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, and named in honor of Peter ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, and graduated in 1988. Anderson, Nick (May 2, 2023)
Howard University names scholar of the African diaspora as its new president
''Washington Post''. He received his undergraduate degree ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1992. Vinson earned a Ph.D. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1998.

Career

Vinson served on the faculties of

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

and

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

before joining

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

as a professor of history and served as the Herbert Baxter Adams Professor of Latin American History and vice dean of centers, interdisciplinary studies and graduate education. He also helped found Johns Hopkins' Center for Africana Studies and served as its founding director. In 2013, Vinson was appointed as dean of George Washington University's

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (known as Columbian College or CCAS) is the College of Arts and Sciences, college of liberal arts and sciences of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. CCAS is the largest school at George ...

. As dean of GWU's Columbian College, he led the integration of the

Corcoran School of the Arts and Design The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts a ...

into the college and opened a $275 million interdisciplinary science and engineering building. He also spearheaded diversity initiatives including the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute that provides funding for high school juniors from their undergraduate to post-doctoral studies.

Reception

Vinson has been chairman of the board of the

National Humanities Center The National Humanities Center (NHC) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any uni ...

since 2018. He is also a vice president of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

and president of the

Conference on Latin American History Conference on Latin American History, (CLAH), founded in 1926, is the professional organization of Latin American historians affiliated with the American Historical Association. It publishes the journal ''The Hispanic American Historical Review'' ...

. Vinson's scholarship focused on the African presence in colonial Mexico and has authored books on the African American experiences in Mexico and Afro-Mexican experiences in the United States. His book ''Before Mestizaje: The Frontiers of Race and Caste in Colonial Mexico'', won the 2019 Howard Cline Book Prize in Mexican History for the best work on Mexico by the

Latin American Studies Association The Latin American Studies Association (LASA) is the largest association for scholars of Latin American studies. Founded in 1966, it has over 12,000 members, 45 percent of whom reside outside the United States (36 percent in Latin America and the ...

Personal

Family

A resident of the Washington, DC area, Howard Newsroom Staff (May 2, 2023)
Ben Vinson III PhD, 18th President of Howard University
The Dig. Vinson is married to Yolanda M. Fortenberry, Ph.D. He has three children, Allyson, Ben IV, and Brandon Vinson. Two of his cousins are W. Toni Carter, former county commissioner of

Ramsey County, Minnesota Ramsey County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 552,352, making it the state's second most populous county, and was estimated to be 542,015 in 2024. Its county seat and largest city is Sai ...

, and her son, Melvin Carter III, the first Black mayor of

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. Howard Magazine (Winter 2024)
Howard University Inaugurates Ben Vinson III as 18th President.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinson, Ben III Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Case Western Reserve University administrators Dartmouth College alumni Columbia University alumni Barnard College faculty Pennsylvania State University faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty American university and college faculty deans George Washington University faculty Case Western Reserve University faculty African-American academic administrators 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics African-American historians