Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran

Dr. Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran, President Emerita of Kalamazoo College, led the institution for eleven years prior to her retirement in 2016. She currently serves as a Senior Fellow and Senior Consultant for Association of Governing Boards (AGB) where she provides consulting services in the areas of Governance, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and President/Board Assessment .  

A native of Los Angeles, she earned her undergraduate degree in sociology from Pomona College. Upon graduation, she was awarded a Thomas J Watson Fellowship to study in Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania. After completing her Ph.D. in child development and early childhood education from the Claremont Graduate University, she taught in the departments of education and psychology at the University of Ife in Nigeria for 14 years.  

Dr. Wilson-Oyelaran served as vice president and dean of the college at Salem Academy College (North Carolina) and held faculty and administrative positions at Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina Wesleyan College

Dr. Wilson-Oyelaran serves on the boards of trustees of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, United States International University Africa (Nairobi, Kenya), Salem Academy and College, and Pomona College. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work in higher education, including two honorary degrees (Pomona College & Kalamazoo College) the Gender Equity Architect Award from the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, the Star Award from the Posse Foundation, and a YWCA Lifetime Achievement Award.