- Vice President for Student Success
Dr. Roland N. Bullard, Jr. is a higher education and student access advocate who believes deeply in the transformational power of education. He currently serves as Vice President for Student Success at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Prior to joining Stillman, Dr. Bullard served as a higher education consultant and as Chief Student Affairs Officer at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. A native of Florida, he earned a B.A. in Communication from Florida Atlantic University, an M.Ed. in Student Personnel Services from the University of South Carolina, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Indiana University. He has also completed graduate certifications in Nonprofit Management, Student Success Analytics, Workplace Diversity, and Fundraising Management. In 2007, he was appointed a Harvard University Administrative Fellow, managing special projects and serving in residence at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Before his tenure at Dillard, Dr. Bullard held academic and student affairs appointments at several institutions, including Presbyterian College (Director of Student Activities and the Student Union), Florida State College at Jacksonville (Executive Dean), Charleston Southern University, and Saint Augustine’s University (Academic Dean). At Saint Augustine’s, an HBCU in Raleigh, North Carolina, he was ultimately promoted to Vice President for Student Development, overseeing Enrollment Management, Financial Aid, and Student Affairs.
An active leader in the field, Dr. Bullard is a Past President of both the South Carolina Housing Officers Association (SCHOA) and the Southern Association for College Student Affairs (SACSA), where he now serves as Immediate Past Chair of the SACSA Foundation, the association’s fundraising arm. He has also served on the NASPA Region III Board and was twice appointed Faculty Director for the SACSA/NASPA New Professionals Institute (2022 and 2023), the premier development experience for early-career student affairs professionals.
Dr. Bullard has contributed nationally as a member of the Council of Independent Colleges’ Chief Academic Officer–Chief Student Affairs Officer Task Force and currently serves as Chair of the Melton Foundation, an international nonprofit based in Temuco, Chile, dedicated to advancing global citizenship among college students. He also serves on regional accreditation review teams for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
His professional achievements have been widely recognized. In 2023, Dr. Bullard received the Melvene K. Hardee Award for outstanding contributions to student affairs in higher education from SACSA, and in 2026, he will be inducted as a NASPA Pillar of the Profession—one of the field’s highest honors.
Dr. Bullard has completed numerous leadership programs, including the AASCU/CIC Executive Leadership Academy, the Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI), the W. Harvey Executive Leadership Summit at Hampton University, the HBCU Higher Education Leadership Foundation (HELF) Theta Class at Huston-Tillotson University, and the National Academy for Leadership and Executive Effectiveness (Senior Student Affairs Officers Institute) sponsored by NASPA. Most recently, he served as an HBCU Executive Leadership Institute Fellow in residence at Clark Atlanta University.
A dedicated community advocate, Dr. Bullard served on the Children’s Youth and Planning Board of New Orleans (a City Council appointment) and the Board of Directors for the Committee for a Better New Orleans, where he previously completed the Brian Bell Leadership Forum. He has also volunteered with STEM-NOLA, supporting STEM engagement among minority youth, and served on the Parents Council for Jefferson Parish Schools (Louisiana) and the Board of Directors for the Florida Atlantic University National Alumni Association.
Throughout his career, Dr. Bullard has been a sought-after consultant, speaker, and panelist, specializing in student retention, nonprofit management, and college student development.