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Karrie Dixon isn’t always popular at the beginning of her chancellorships.
That’s because at both of the public, historically Black universities she’s led — Elizabeth City State University and now, NC Central University — she’s been asked to steer a wayward ship back on course.
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She brought Elizabeth City State back from the brink of closure with tough decision after tough decision. At NCCU, she again inherited significant financial instability. And again, the tough decisions came hard and fast.
But at both institutions, those very decisions ultimately earned her respect and a glowing reputation. She is also the first woman to lead two UNC System schools.
Dixon is a Winston-Salem native, an alum of both NC State University and UNC Greensboro, and a veteran employee of the UNC System. Two years into her chancellorship at NC Central, she spoke with The News & Observer about the challenges she’s faced, the successes she’s had, and her vision for the future.
One major priority for Dixon is elevating NCCU to Research 2 — or R2 — status, which means increasing the school’s research activity and attracting the funding that comes along with it. NCCU’s neighbors — Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and NC State University — are all classified as R1, in the “very high” category of research activity. Among HBCUs, Howard University is the only R1 school.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
When I started at Elizabeth City State University, the university was referred to as being on life support. There were some discussions about closure. The university had lost 60% of its enrollment. The university had 17 audit findings. It was on warning for accreditation.
Being asked to go there as a first-time chancellor, I didn’t know if I was prepared for these major challenges. I decided to take a chance because once I visited Elizabeth City State, saw the people in the community, and saw that this was an economic engine in rural northeastern North Carolina, I felt like I needed to do this. I needed to do any and everything I could to make sure that this university was functioning, producing, and being the stellar institution I knew it could.
I’ve always worked in public education, in the UNC System. I’m a product of the UNC System. I worked for 10 years at the UNC System office. All those experiences prepared me for the challenges I faced going into Elizabeth City State.
When you make the tough decisions, you’re not always popular. There were some people who thought I came to Elizabeth City State to close the institution. I knew my goal of being there was to address the challenges and make it a strong, functioning HBCU in rural North Carolina.
We grew enrollment significantly, exceeding 2,300 students. And we were the recipients of a MacKenzie Scott gift — $15 million. We used that money to grow our endowment and address needs on campus. We were good stewards of that money. This year, she gave another $42 million.
Now, I’m the first woman to lead two UNC campuses.
Coming into NCCU, there were a lot of similarities in some of the financial challenges. Historically, HBCUs have been underfunded. I knew we had to build trust in our alumni, our supporters, and in the legislature.
I have claimed us to be the Triangle’s public HBCU. Part of our strategic plan is to become an R2 institution. We’re on our way to doing that. It’s been a culture change in who we are as an institution, how we’re contributing to the state of North Carolina, the economy, and how we’re showing up nationally.
My first week on the job, I was greeted with a state audit report that showed that NCCU had $45 million [in financial reporting errors] because of a lack of internal control.
I knew coming into this role that I needed to pay very close attention to internal controls, how we were spending. It took bold, courageous leadership that’s not always popular at the start of a new chancellorship. I put in place a hiring freeze. I put in place reductions in spending across the entire institution. We optimized our resources and maximized our effectiveness.
In 12 months, we were able to address the issues around lack of internal control. Moody’s affirmed that with an A3 rating, a stable outlook for finances. They saw the work that had been done so quickly, the direction I wanted to go in, and what I was doing. They specifically noted trust in leadership.
In 18 months, we got our first clean state audit in three years. The team that I put together at NCCU — the perspectives, the expectations, the accountability — is moving the university in the right direction. I can’t say what happened prior to my administration. But we have shown significant improvement from 2024 to 2025.
When I started here two years ago, I was very surprised that we had seven buildings on temporary HVAC — including our law school. It was shocking. I was a little disappointed because it showed that deferred maintenance was not being addressed prior to my administration.
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We were spending approximately $30,000 per month per temporary chiller. That’s not the way to maximize efficiencies or make sound decisions about money.
So I spoke to legislators, to the UNC System. We are very grateful to the General Assembly and to (Gov.) Josh Stein for the budget, which provides $110 million to NCCU, $98.6 of which is recurring. Even before that money, we went from seven temporary chillers to five.
NCCU stands on its legacy and history. We just celebrated 116 years. We have a reputation of being a leading HBCU committed to excellence, access and student success. Students want to be here.
When I walk around campus on move-in day and ask students and families what got them excited about NCCU, the most common response is the location. The understanding that you can be connected with internships, apprenticeships, opportunities in this area.
Since I’ve been here, we’ve gone from 8,600 students to 9,300. In my two years, we’ve led the UNC System in enrollment growth by percentage.
A lot of that has been online. We are focused on adult learners, nontraditional and military-affiliated students. We are focused on transfers from community colleges. We’re not just strategizing around recent high school graduates.
We’re going to reach 10,000 students very soon. I know we are. Students want to be Eagles. They want to be in the Triangle. They want to be in North Carolina. We had to turn away out-of-state students last year because of our out-of-state cap.
We experienced more than $2 million in federal funding reductions, in grants that were aligned with DEI.
What I told my cabinet is: We have to keep the main thing the main thing, and stay focused on educating our students. That should be our focus. Comparatively, $2 million is not that much compared to some of the R1 institutions and the federal funding they lost.
We make sure that all students are able to take advantage of our research efforts and student support services, and are able to feel engaged and like they belong.
I don’t think people realize how large we are. There’s always a gasp in the room when I say we’re 9,300 students. We have to be at the table when it comes to research and what’s happening in Research Triangle Park.
When I think about my colleagues, the chancellors of North Carolina State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University, we’re all on the same page with the role that we play. One thing that attracted me to this role at NCCU is that I didn’t think we were tapping into all the potential and opportunities that we could as the Triangle’s public HBCU.
I want to truly be at the table as an equal partner with the other institutions that are R1. We strive to be R2, and we’re on our way. We have three research institutes, but we have to tell that story and make sure that people know what we’re doing with biomedical, biomanufacturing and artificial intelligence.
Reaching R2 status is one thing. Building new residence halls is another. We are growing significantly, but it’s a double-edged sword because we’re landlocked. We want to house as many students as we can. We actually lead by percentage in the number of students we house across the system. But as it stands, we can’t house everyone.
The team that I put in place wakes up every morning as I do, wanting to do the right thing for NCCU, making sure that we make the tough decisions that provide stability and sustainability for future generations.
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