Image
karrie dixon headshot

Karrie Dixon

Chancellor
Elizabeth City State University

Dr. Karrie G. Dixon was named 12th Chief Executive Officer and 7th Chancellor of Elizabeth City State University on December 14, 2018.  Prior to her appointment as interim chancellor on April 9, 2018, Dr. Dixon served as co-lead on the ECSU New Directions Phase 2 Operational Team since early 2017.

Dr. Dixon has served as a senior administrator at the University of North Carolina System since 2008. In 2014, she was promoted to Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. Dixon was responsible for overseeing the Division of Academic and Student Affairs for the System’s 17 institutions. During her tenure, she was responsible for providing University-wide guidance for policy that shapes the work and practice within academic and student affairs divisions. For nearly 10 years, she has provided the UNC System office with her expertise in academic policy, while leading various student success initiatives and managing processes to increase student access, enrollment, retention and graduation rates. She has fostered innovative collaborations among the UNC System, the NC Community College System, the state's independent colleges and universities, and the NC Department of Public Instruction and has been instrumental in leading multiple projects and policy changes that have greatly impacted students in the University of North Carolina System and statewide.

Dixon also served as the Chief Student Affairs Officer for the UNC System, working closely with Vice Chancellors for Student Affairs and other University leaders on efforts regarding community college transfers, enrollment and minimum admission requirements, campus safety, and military student success. Statewide programs, under her direction, included the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) Pathways and the federally funded NC State Approving Agency. Over the years, her research and scholarly presentations focused on summer bridge programs, transfer articulation and strategies for student success.

Prior to joining the UNC System, Dixon served a total of 10 years combined at two other UNC campuses. Most recently, she was an assistant vice provost at North Carolina State University and remains an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the College of Education’s Department of Leadership, Policy, Adult and Higher Education. In this role, she enjoys leading discussions with graduate students interested in careers in higher education leadership and serving on dissertation committees.

Dixon is a charter member of the Black Women Collegiate Presidents and Chancellor.  In 2022, Dixon was invited to serve on the North Carolina Campus Engagement Executive Board.  Dixon was appointed to the Campus Compact Board of Directors in June of 2022.  She was elected to serve on the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) Board of Trustees in 2021.  In 2021, Dixon was appointed to the Board of Directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) for a three-year appointment and also appointed to the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) Council of Presidents. In 2020, Dixon was named to the newly formed national Women in Aviation Advisory (WIAAB) board by U.S. Dept. of Transportation Secretary, Elaine L. Chao. In 2019, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper awarded Dr. Dixon The Old North State Award, one of the highest honors granted by the State of North Carolina, which is awarded to “individuals who have shown dedication and service beyond expectation and excellence to the Great State of North Carolina.” She also was named by the HBCU Campaign Fund, as one of “The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2020.” Before arriving at ECSU, Dr. Dixon was named a 2016-17 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow. Her host campus for the academic year was Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC.

Dixon received the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Education and the Black Alumni Legacy Award in 2014 at NCSU. Dr. Dixon is a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ (AASCU) Millennium Leadership Initiative, class of 2013. She also received the Triangle Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” leadership award in 2014. And, she was recognized as a recipient of the 2015 Alumni Distinguished Service Award from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dixon serves as a presidential sponsor for the North Carolina American Council on Education (NCACE) Women’s Network. 

Dr. Dixon holds a bachelor’s degree from NC State University, a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a doctorate from NC State. She and her husband Devi have two daughters.