SHREVEPORT, La. – The Southern University System today unanimously approved President Dennis J. Shields’ recommendation of Aubra Gantt as the next Chancellor of Southern University Shreveport (SUSLA).
Gantt, a Shreveport native, has more than 25 years of progressive experience in post-secondary education and has served in a variety of positions in state government, academic affairs, student affairs, enrollment management, and clinical behavioral and mental health positions. She currently serves as a Clinical Physician at various hospitals in Phoenix, Arizona.
Southern University System President and Chancellor Dennis J. Shields thanked the selection committee for their diligence and dedication. The committee consisted of a variety of stakeholders, including student government, community workers, SUSLA faculty and staff, city officials, and alumni.
“She (Gantt) is a product of Southern University and this community,” said Board Member Sam Gilliam. “Southern and Shreveport are proving to be training grounds for leadership.”
After the board unanimously approved her appointment, Gantt immediately recognized her alma maters and hometown.
“It’s good to be home,” said Gantt, a graduate of Green Oaks High School in Shreveport. “I am a graduate of SUSLA, Southern University Baton Rouge and Southern University in New Orleans. All of this (career achievements) comes from the foundation that the Southern University educational system laid for me.”
Gantt pledged to continue SUSLA’s success as the only historically black two-year campus in the United States by enhancing partnerships, technologies and in-demand programs that prepare students for a global workforce.
“If we’re collaborative, committed, and bold, then we’re well on our way to uncompromising excellence,” said Gantt.
Gantt began her professional education career at SUSLA, where she has served in a variety of roles, including as an educational talent search consultant for the TRIO programs. She was Dean of Matriculation Management at Scottsdale Community College in the Maricopa Community College District, one of the largest two-year college systems in the country.
Gantt is the founding vice president of academic outreach and student success at Tarrant County College’s (TCC) Connect Campus in Fort Worth, Texas, one of the most inclusive community colleges in the country. She also served as a registrar at the TCC Northwest Campus for 13 years.
With 15 years of college teaching and consulting experience, Gantt has served as an Adjunct Instructor at TCC; Tarleton State University in Fort Worth, Texas; and Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.
Gantt holds bachelor’s degrees in liberal studies from Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge; a master’s degree in social work from Southern University in New Orleans and a doctorate in education in university administration from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
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