BATON ROUGE, LA - The University of Louisiana System President Sandra Woodley will recommend the UL System Board of Supervisors to appoint Cynthia Warrick to serve as Interim President of Grambling State University effective July 1, 2014. Warrick's appointment will be considered by the Board at its June 27 meeting in Baton Rouge.

"While we search for a permanent leader for Grambling State, the university needs an interim president with the skills and expertise to address a variety of issues. Dr. Warrick has proven capable of enacting positive change in the face of significant challenges, and, I believe, she is the right person to move the university forward during this transitional period," said Woodley.

A pharmacist by trade, Warrick ventured into higher education 16 years ago. She has served in multi-faceted leadership roles as an administrator, public servant, healthcare professional, environmental research scientist, faculty member, and accreditation reviewer.

She currently serves as Senior Fellow for the Center for Minority Health Services Research at Howard University's College of Pharmacy, a position she has held since 2009.

Warrick, is former South Carolina State University Interim President and prior to her appointment she was Dean and Chief Research Officer and Professor of Pharmacy at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina; Associate Professor and Director of Environmental & Occupational Health at Florida A&M University; and Assistant Professor in the Division of Management, Policy & Community Health at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston.

In the 2012-13 academic year, Warrick served as Interim President at South Carolina State University, the state's only public HBCU. During her one-year appointment, she accomplished the following:

• Recruited a team of professionals to address legal, financial, criminal, political, academic, and student issues related to failed management and oversight;
• Prevented the closure of a major academic program threatening the degrees of over 200 professional nursing students;
• Developed and implemented a mobile app and social media networking center to address campus security, customer service and communication issues, and to enhance student trust and awareness, stakeholder involvement and campus cohesiveness;
• Successfully lobbied the SC legislature to increase university funding and improve the institution's public relations in the wake of negative publicity; and
• Established key agency and private sector partnerships.

"It is a great honor to be considered for Interim President of Grambling State University. As an HBCU alumna, I am both excited and humbled by the opportunity to serve this outstanding institution that has a legacy of excellence in higher education and athletics, but also in life. I look forward to joining the Grambling family in the pursuit of continued service to students, faculty, staff, and proud alumni in Louisiana and throughout the world," said Warrick.