University of Kansas Names First Woman, First Black Chancellor: Dr. Bernadette Gray-Little, a top University of North Carolina official, will become the first female and first Black chancellor at the University of Kansas.
Gray-Little, 64, was appointed Friday by the Kansas Board of Regents from among three finalists to succeed Robert Hemenway, who has led the state's largest university since 1995. She will be installed Aug. 15 as the university's 17th chancellor.
The appointment completed the regents' task of finding new leaders for three of the state's universities. Gray-Little is the first African-American to lead a state university in Kansas and the second woman to do so, after Kay Schallenkamp, who was Emporia State University president in 1997-2006.
The regents announced Gray-Little's appointment after holding closed meetings Thursday and Friday. Board members said her academic and administrative credentials put her at the top. Salary talks continue but Hemenway's annual pay was about $267,000.
