“Howard is a place with boundless opportunity,” says Vinson, who became the 18th president of the 156-year-old university on September 1. “Its impact in the Black community is obviously renowned. The past decade has been a renaissance at this institution.” He cites recent faculty hires, record applications, and a major expansion of research. “All of this is making for a vibrancy that’s a little uncommon in higher education right now.”

An only child whose father was an Air Force master sergeant and mother was a teacher, Vinson grew up in the town of Sovizzo, Italy, and attended a school where no one spoke English. “We were the only American family there. That kind of boot camp where you must learn and absorb, that really impacts you,” he says.  “It’s helped me learn to read the culture of people.” 

Previously executive vice president and provost at Case Western Reserve University, he and his wife, biochemist Yolanda Fortenberry, have a daughter, 15, and twin sons, 13. Vinson has drawn lessons from fatherhood for his leadership style: “When to lean back, when to lean in, when to guide, when to let go,” he says.