Dr. Maurice D.
Gipson15th President & CEO
Philander Smith University

Dr. Maurice D. Gipson was appointed the 15th President and CEO of Philander Smith University in May 2025, after serving as Interim President starting in August 2024. He previously spent four years on the Philander Smith Board of Trustees, where he held leadership positions including Chair of the Governance Committee and Vice Chair of the Board.

Dr. Gipson most recently served as the Vice Chancellor for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity at the University of Missouri and was a faculty member in the Department of History and the Department of Black Studies. In this role, Dr. Gipson served as an executive for the 30,000-plus student flagship campus in Columbia, Missouri. Additionally, he directed and led the activities of the Division of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity with a staff of over 120 and a multi-million budget. Prior to that, he was the Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Community Engagement and an instructor of history at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Dr. Gipson boasts over a decade of experience in higher education executive leadership and has worked in almost every facet of higher education administration. As both a researcher and practitioner, he has focused on student success, access initiatives, faculty recruitment/retention, and strategic leadership. His efforts have culminated in numerous awards and recognitions.

Besides his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Gipson has been an active faculty member teaching classes on the Black Freedom Struggle, History of Black Nationalism and African American History. Most recently, he presented his scholarship at the international conference on Black Power in Frankfurt, Germany and is currently working on his first book which chronicles the Black Freedom Struggle in Arkansas.

A native of Ferriday, Louisiana, Dr. Gipson is a graduate of Louisiana State University and received his Juris Doctor from Southern University Law Center with an emphasis on civil rights. In addition to being a licensed attorney, he holds a master’s degree in history from Missouri State University and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Mississippi. Along with his leadership experiences at the University of Missouri and Arkansas State University, Dr. Gipson has worked  in different capacities at several universities, including the University of Texas-Austin, Wiley College, and Huston-Tillotson University.

Outside of work, Dr. Gipson enjoys spending time with his lovely wife Jasmine,  a Little Rock native, their beautiful daughter Morgan Marie, and their dog Nova.