Today, HBCU Campaign Fund‘s (HCF) Founder, President and CEO Demetrius Johnson, Jr. has announced the selection of Harris-Stowe State University President Dr. LaTonia Collins Smith as an honoree of the eighth class of The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2025 for her outstanding leadership at Harris-Stowe and steadfast dedication to the field of higher education. President Collins Smith will join honorees Dr. Charles McClelland, Dr. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins, Dr. Cynthia Anthony, Olivier Charles, Dr. Glenda Glover, and four other recipients comprised of the eighth class who will be inducted into the prestigious national recognition for 2025.

“Join me in commending the outstanding leadership of President Collins Smith as she continues to make history as the first African American woman President of Harris-Stowe State. HSSU is an exceptional institution that continues to strive as a top-tier university that provides outstanding educational opportunities under an exceptional leader, Dr. Collins-Smith, and the outstanding members of her administration. It’s with esteemed pleasure that we honor President Collins Smith and name her as an honoree of the eighth class of The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2025,” said Demetrius Johnson Jr., HCF Founder, President and CEO.

The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders Award & Class is a national recognition created by the HBCU Campaign Fund that identifies ten chancellors and presidents, and as of 2024, sports-affiliated individuals serving in the role at an HBCU, MSI, or affiliated with who exemplify a prominent and influential role in leadership and model the characteristics of following responsibilities in the progression of an institution or entity forward.

With more than 25 years of progressive leadership experience and an extensive administrative and program development background, Dr. Collins Smith assumed as the 21st President of Harris-Stowe State University on March 1, 2022. She holds history as the first African American woman President of HSSU, following the legacy of Ruth Harris, the first African American woman President of Stowe Teachers College in 1940. Prior to the presidency, Dr. Collins Smith was appointed as interim president, and during her tenure, the University raised more than $3.5M in scholarships and donations, including those designated to endowments, as well as grants. Historically, in 2020-2021, HSSU graduated its largest class in the University’s history and increased its six-year graduation rate by 6.3%.

Dr. Collins Smith began her career in higher education at Harris-Stowe in 2010. She served as the ci-principal investigator of a $5 million National Science Foundation grant to strengthen STEM in the state of Missouri and serves as chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statewide Celebration Commission of Missouri.

Dr. Collins Smith has received several leadership and service awards prior to being named one of the Most Dominant HBCU Leaders. In 2022, Dr. Collins Smith was named the 2022 St. Louis American Foundation Stellar Performer in Education. In 2023, she was awarded the St. Louis University School of Education Dean’s Award, and she was most recently honored by her alma mater, the University of Central Missouri, where she received the James C. Kirkpatrick Excellence in Governance Award in April 2024.

The honorees will be fully announced as The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2025 and Eighth Class in early 2025.

About the HBCU Campaign Fund
The HBCU Campaign Fund (HCF) was founded in 2012 and is one of the nation’s minority educational organizations. HCF remains a strong advocate for students and higher education. The mission of HCF is to support the significance and raise funds for scholarships, programs, and for private and public HBCUs and MSIs. For more information, visit www.hbcucampaignfund.org.

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