John T. Wolfe Jr.

John T. Wolfe Jr. is a higher education administrator who served as president of Kentucky State University from 1990–1991,[1] and president of Savannah State College from 1993 until 1997.[2]

Dr. John T. Wolfe Jr.
President of Savannah State College
In office
1993–1997
Preceded byWilliam E. Gardner Jr.
Succeeded byCarlton E. Brown
Personal details
Born (1942-02-22) February 22, 1942
Jackson, Mississippi
Professioneducator

Biography

Education

Wolfe was born in Mississippi and grew up in Chicago, Illinois.[3] He graduated from St. Philip Basilica High School in Chicago, Illinois in 1960. He earned a BS.Ed. from Chicago Teachers College in 1964. In 1972 he earned a M.S. in English Education from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He later earned a Ph.D. in linguistics from Purdue University in 1976.[4] After earning his Ph.D., he was a professor at the University of Florida.

Career

Fayetteville State University

In 1980, Wolfe was appointed Head for the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts at Fayetteville State University.[4] He was named Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs following his internship as an ACE Fellow in the Chancellor's Office and in February 1985, Dr. Wolfe was named Acting Dean of Academic Affairs.[5]

Bowie State University

Wolfe was Provost of Bowie State University from 1985 to June 30, 1990.[6]

Savannah State University

Wolfe was the tenth president of Savannah State College, which was renamed Savannah State University during his tenure.[7] He served as president from 1993 to 1997. During his tenure, the Public Administration and Social Work graduate programs returned to the institution and Savannah State College was elevated by the Georgia Board of Regents to state university status. Wolfe also oversaw the highest enrollment in Savannah State’s history, which grew to over 3,200 students during the 1994 and 1995 school years. He created the university’s first Faculty Senate and secured $12 million to build a 5,000-seat athletic complex and $1 million for a new track and field facility. His support of grant writing led to a 100% increase in funded proposals during his time at Savannah State from $7.11 million to $14.3 million.[7]

When he was hired, Wolfe was charged with improving management and accountability on campus. During that process, a number of popular Savannah employees were let go and locked out of their offices. Petitions, student protests and a vote of no-confidence from faculty, staff and alumni followed.[8]

After leading Savannah State University for four years, he requested not to be reappointed for another academic year, and accepted a position as Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of System of Georgia’s offices.[9]

NCAA

In 1996, while president of Savannah State College, Wolfe was selected to serve as one of the NCAA’s Division II Presidents Council Transition Team members with 12 other chief executive officers.[10]

Published Works

In 2015, Wolfe wrote a chapter focusing on diversity in Historically Black Colleges and Universities that was published in the book Exploring Issues of Diversity in HBCUs.[11] In 2020, Wolfe co-authored a chapter titled, “Examining Barriers to Minority Faculty Contributions in Higher Education” that was published in the book Disparities in the Academy: Accounting for the Elephant.[12]

Suggested Reading
  • Hall, Clyde W (1991). One Hundred Years of Educating at Savannah State College, 1890-1990. East Peoria, Ill.: University of Florida Press.

References
  1. "SSU - Where Savannah Meets the Sea..." Archived from the original on 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  2. "Past Presidents | Kentucky State University". kysu.edu.
  3. "Wolfe, John T., Jr. · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". nkaa.uky.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  4. Fayetteville State University (1980). The Fayettevillian. Fayetteville State University Charles W. Chestnutt Library. Fayetteville, N.C.: Fayetteville State University. p. 28.
  5. University of North Carolina (System) (1984). The President's report. State Library of North Carolina. [Chapel Hill? : The University],. p. 21.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  6. Bowie State University (2018-03-27). "Bowie State University: Institutional Name Changes, Presidents, Interims and Provosts with Dates" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  7. "Savannah State President John Wolfe to Conclude His Presidency | Communications | University System of Georgia". www.usg.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  8. Few, Jenel. "Past SSU Presidents gather to discuss trials and triumphs". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  9. "Savannah State President John Wolfe to Conclude His Presidency | Communications | University System of Georgia". www.usg.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  10. "McGee,Wolfe join Presidents Council Transition Team in II" (PDF). The NCAA News. 1996-04-15. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  11. Ingram, Ted N.; Greenfield, Derek; Carter, Joelle D.; Hilton, Adriel A. (2015-07-01). Exploring Issues of Diversity within HBCUs. IAP. ISBN 978-1-68123-100-6.
  12. Njie-Carr, Veronica P. S.; Niemann, Yolanda Flores; Sharps, Phyllis W. (2020-02-14). Disparities in the Academy: Accounting for the Elephant. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 978-1-64610-641-7.
Academic offices
Preceded by
William E. Gardner Jr.		 President of
Savannah State College
1993 — 1997		 Succeeded by
Carlton E. Brown
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