Carmen J. Walters
14th President of Tougaloo College
On July 1, 2019, Dr. Carmen J. Walters became the 14th president to lead the historic Tougaloo College, bringing to the institution more than 24 years of experience in leadership, curriculum and policy development, fundraising, student enrollment, team building, conflict resolution, diversity and inclusion, strategic planning, and organizational management. She assumes her role with a commitment to advance the College’s mission—to provide students with an affordable and high-quality transformative education—and its ongoing commitment to social justice.
Prior to joining the Tougaloo College family, Dr. Walters held various executive positions at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) for six years, including executive vice president of enrollment management, student success, and institutional relations and campus vice president. Prior to that, she held executive level positions at Delgado Community College in New Orleans for 18 years, including assistant vice chancellor of human resources, executive assistant to the chancellor, and assistant to the vice chancellor for academic and student affairs. Dr. Walters was a key fundraiser, securing and managing a $1 million grant for student success initiative programs, facilitator of key renovations, and author of the MGCCC’s Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, which increased the number of dual enrolled and traditional high school students that positively affected retention and graduation rates. She authored and managed grants, as well as conducted research and developed curriculum. She has worked as an instructor for Jefferson Parish Department of Employment and Training in Louisiana and as a high school teacher in New Orleans, LA.
Throughout her career, Dr. Walters has served and continues to serve on the boards of many non-profit organizations, including the Mississippi Women in Higher Education, Mississippi Girl Scouts of the Greater Mississippi, Jackson County United Way, National Congress of Black Women, Mississippi Gulf Coast Connections Organization, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Zeta Alpha Chapter. She holds membership in the Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi, Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, and the National Council on Black American Affairs. She serves on many committees and councils, including the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Student Services Council, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Executive Council and Athletic and Planning Committees.
Dr. Walters has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the Gulf Coast Young Professionals, Influential Mentor, Forever Young Award, Mississippi Economic Council’s Leadership Mississippi Class of 2015 Project Award, Delgado Community College Dolphin Award, Delgado Community College Chancellor’s Cabinet Award of Excellence, and she was recognized in the 2002 Success Guide of “People to Watch,” published by the New Orleans Publishing Group.
Dr. Walters holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration from Southern University in 1984, a Master of Arts in Postsecondary Counseling from Xavier College in 1990, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Community College Leadership from Mississippi State University in 2009. She and her husband, Wayne Walters, have two adult daughters.
President Walters can be reached by email at president@tougaloo.edu.
Contact Information
Mailing Address:
Tougaloo College
Office of the President
500 West County Line Road
Tougaloo, MS 39174601-977-7730
601-977-7739
Campus Location:
Blackmon Building: 2nd FloorContact:
Dr. Carmen J. Walters
Presidentpresident@tougaloo.edu
Linda J. Daniels, Ph.D.
Chief of StaffTonie Knott
Administrative Assistant
