Stillman College Names Savannah State Provost Its Eighth-Ever President

Tuscaloosa's Stillman College has named a leader at Savannah State University to become its eight-ever president and succeed retiring trailblazer Cynthia Warrick.

In a Thursday press release, a Stillman spokesperson said its Board of Trustees has selected Dr. Yolanda W. Page to become president. Warrick announced last September that she would retire when her contract ends at the end of this month, and Page will step into the new role on July 1st.

Get our free mobile app

Page is currently the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia.

Stillman said Page has 30 years of experience in academic leadership including time at her alma mater, Dillard University in New Orelans.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to lead Stillman College, and I thank the board of trustees for its confidence in me to lead this storied institution,” Page said in the release.

She compared the Stillman College experience to her own time pursuing undergraduate degrees in English and business management at Dillard.

“I knew Stillman would be the right place to make the type of impact I’ve strived to make in my career and, ultimately, I’d like to continue to make as a president [at Stillman],” she said. “That impact is grounded in student, faculty, and staff success and providing each of those groups with the tools and the access to resources that will allow them to grow and achieve what they feel are their missions in life.”

Page also holds both a master’s degree and doctor of philosophy in American and African American literature from Louisiana State University.

Her curriculum vitae also includes some time studying in Ghana as a United Negro College Fund and Mellon International Faculty Seminar Fellow and Page said she has worked extensively with high-risk students and first-generation students like herself.

“The board of trustees is excited to appoint Dr. Page as the eighth president of Stillman College,” said Donald W. Comer, chair of the Stillman College Board of Trustees. “Dr. Page has rich experience, having served at multiple institutions demonstrating exceptional leadership, innovative academic programming, robust fundraising, and solid financial acumen. We are confident that she can not only sustain but accelerate the momentum that Stillman has experienced in recent years.”

According to the release, Page has earned a reputation for both launching new academic programs and securing money to support her vision - both will be valued at Stillman as the college works to "reshape its liberal arts profile to meet workforce needs, particularly in cybersecurity and information technology."

“Meeting the needs of the workforce is critical for the outcomes of our students and growing the institution for the future,” Page said. “We will continue to find new niches that will allow us to educate and serve traditional and non-traditional students, as well as our community to build a ‘communiversity’ and achieve a true town-and-gown relationship with the city of Tuscaloosa.”

Page is married with two children, one of whom is in college and the other a freshman in high school.