https://apnews.com/5c6519b331f72d1fb6c54a5cc811025f

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Fisk University's Board of Trustees has named Vann Newkirk Sr. as the 17th president of the historically Black university in Nashville.

Newkirk has served as interim president since last fall and has been a provost at Fisk since 2018. In his time with the university, he has launched new programs in bioinformatics, data science and social justice, according to a Monday news release from the school. The programs have contributed to enrollment growth and an increase in the “academic caliber of Fisk’s incoming student body,” according to the release.