Charlie Nelms

Charlie Nelms, Ed.D., has more than 40 years of experience and leadership in higher education. Currently, Nelms is launching a national initiative related to transforming Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Most recently, Nelms served as chancellor of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, N.C., from 2007 to 2012. During his tenure, Nelms intensified the university’s emphasis on student success, setting ambitious goals for increasing student retention and graduation rates.

In 2012, President Obama honored Nelms with the MLK Drum Major for Service Award for helping to address the most pressing needs in our communities and our nation. Nelms was recently named a Senior Scholar with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. In this role he is assisting Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) with increasing their retention and graduation rates. In addition Nelms serves as a Center Scholar in the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University Bloomington.

During his long career Nelms served as a faculty member and administrator at several universities including: chancellor of Indiana University at Richmond, chancellor at the University of Michigan at Flint, and vice president of the Indiana University system.