Tony K. Atwater, is the former president of

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 a ...

Education

Atwater holds a 1972 A.S.S. in television and radio production from Virginia Western Community College. He graduated from

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association a ...

with a BA,

magna 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 So ...

in 1973. Entering graduate school at

Virginia Polytechnic Institute Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

and State University he was awarded an MA in education in 1979. He then earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in communication research from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 1983. His dissertation was titled:'' A Market Analysis of Content Diversity in Local Television News''. He completed his postdoctoral study in the Department of Communication at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1989.

Career

During his career he has served as the Dean of Professional Studies at

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

, Chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Media at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

, and was Provost at

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges ...

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Atwater served as president of

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The uni ...

, the largest member university of the

Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that oversees 10 state-owned universities. Collectively, it is the largest provider of higher education in the commonwealth. All ...

, from 2005 to 2010. During his tenure at IUP, he attempted to change the institution's "party-school" image. The university also continued an ambitious residential hall construction project under Atwater's leadership. In December 2009, 84% of voting faculty members chose "no confidence" in Atwater as president. The vote was based on 31 specific complaints identified by the faculty union, including questionable use of university funds, poor leadership style, and poor decision-making. The vote of "no confidence" also included allegations of an "imperialistic leadership style." Atwater resigned as president of IUP on June 30, 2010, to serve as a Senior Fellow at the

American Association of State Colleges and Universities The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is an organization of state-supported colleges and universities that offer degree programs leading to bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees. AASCU grew out of the Association o ...

. Since his departure as president, Atwater has continued to be the subject of news reports probing his spending practices at IUP.

Norfolk State University

Atwater was announced as Norfolk State's new president on April 22, 2011, by the NSU Board of Visitors. He officially became president of Norfolk State on July 1, 2011. On August 23, 2013, Atwater was fired by the board of Norfolk State University.

References

External links

IUP biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atwater, Tony Living people Hampton University alumni Virginia Tech alumni Michigan State University alumni University of Michigan alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Northern Kentucky University faculty Rutgers University faculty Youngstown State University faculty University of Toledo faculty Indiana University of Pennsylvania faculty Presidents of Norfolk State University 20th-century American educators 21st-century American educators Place of birth missing (living people) Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)