Tashni-Ann Dubroy is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Howard University. She oversees facilities management, information technology, campus safety, enrollment management, auxiliary services, environmental health and safety, process optimization, and university strategy.

Under her leadership, Howard improved its financial aid standing with the Department of Education, elevating from Heightened Cash Monitoring level 2 to level 1 status within a nine-month period. She managed the university through a weather-related crisis related to the operation of its steam plant and is leading a steam plant modernization effort. Dubroy is leading an IT overhaul that includes improvement of Howard’s core network, as part of a partnership with IBM, and is installing a new, universitywide Enterprise Resource Planning system.

Before joining Howard in 2017, she served as the 17th president of the “Mother of all Historically Black Universities in the South,” Shaw University. During her tenure at Shaw, she was awarded Female President of the Year by HBCU Digest. She was appointed in August 2015 during the university’s sesquicentennial celebratory year, and her administration positioned Shaw as a resource to the city of Raleigh, N.C., through entrepreneurial innovation, civic presence, and support for students and surrounding communities.

Dubroy’s philosophy of fiscal conservatism and institutional capacity-building made her a fast-rising star in the higher education community. In its first year, the Dubroy administration effectively reversed six consecutive years of enrollment declines and yielded a 15 percent increase of new and returning students. That same year, the administration closed a $4 million fundraising gap, which included an institutional record $630,000 raised during Shaw’s annual homecoming weekend, and earned positive change in net assets to counteract a two-year loss — all of which earned her honors as 2017 CEO of the Year in the Triangle region. She was named to the “40 Under 40: Excellence in Leadership” list by the Triangle Business Journal. She has received numerous accolades from local philanthropic organizations.

Before her executive appointment at Shaw, the Shaw alumna served as special assistant to the president, chair of Shaw’s Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and an associate professor of chemistry.

Dubroy began her career as a research scientist at BASF, the world's largest chemical company. She quickly ascended to the position of global technology analyst and, after two years, was appointed to serve as chemical procurement manager, where she managed a strategic sourcing budget of $35 million.

She also co-founded Tea and Honey Blends, a hair care company that manufactured and retailed natural hair care products, and co-owned downtown Raleigh’s Element Beauty Bar. Her entrepreneurial success landed her on the pages of Money Magazine and Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek.

Dubroy earned her PhD in physical organic chemistry from North Carolina State University in 2007 and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Rutgers University 

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