Tony Allen begins term as Delaware State University President

DOVER, Del. – With the new year comes new changes, and one big change has made its way Delaware State University. On Wednesday, Tony Allen officially settled into his new role as President of the university, and is already planning goals for the future.

“Our main vision is to be the most diverse contemporary HBCU in America,” Allen said.

And starting bright and early on the first day of 2020, Allen got to work on that goal.

“I feel great, I feel great, this has been an exciting opportunity for me, and I think it’s an interesting and important time for Delaware State University,” he said.

Allen says he’s wasting no time getting to work, but his journey to the seat in the president’s office was a long one.

“I spent a lot of time in the private sector, 15 years at Bank of America, and in the private nonprofit sector,” Allen explained.

But Allen says he was never far from the education field.

“I spent a fair amount of time on public education reform here in Delaware, but always knew that I wanted to get to higher education,” he said.

Eventually, all roads led Allen back here to Dover.

“Fortunately, I spent two years here as provost of Delaware State University, so that gave me a really good opportunity to understand and begin to love this university,” he said.

It’s that love and understanding that Allen says he’ll now use to transform Delaware State University into the best institution it can be.

“When we are able to take the experiences from the many different sectors that we have, and put them in place at a place like Delaware State University, I think it’s important for all of our stakeholders and particularly our students,” Allen said.

Because when it comes down to it, he says, it’s all about the students.

“When you have an institution that is often serving folks who are overlooked or underserved by traditional public education, you want to make sure that you can give them a step ahead of everybody else,” Allen said.