Tuesday, September 12, 2000

WILMINGTON, NC -- Dr. John Cavanaugh, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, today announced the appointment of Roxie Shabazz as assistant vice chancellor for admissions. Ms. Shabazz, currently director of admissions at Spelman College, will join the UNCW staff late this fall.

"She is very well regarded nationally in the admissions profession," said Dr. Cavanaugh, "and her success in previous positions as well as her knowledge of this region impressed me. She has a lot of good ideas on how we can market ourselves better.

"We will be looking to her to generally raise the quality of our admissions operation, including a complete revision of our admissions material, and raise the whole level of service we provide to prospective students and their parents. We also expect her to help UNCW become more active in selecting the kind of freshman class we want, seeking out students with the characteristics we want to enroll here," he said.

Ms. Shabazz received a bachelor's of arts degree in general arts from Villanova University in 1981 and a master's of social service -- administration from Bryn Mawr College in 1985. Her work experience in admissions includes service at the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Va., as associate dean of admissions from 1988-94; director of undergraduate admissions at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va., from 1994-1999; and currently director of admissions and orientation services at Spelman College in Atlanta.

At Spelman, she administers a comprehensive undergraduate admission program that includes marketing and student recruitment, application evaluation, and overseeing the processing of 3,400 freshmen, transfer, and international applications.

"I love Wilmington and UNCW, and I am excited about being part of the university community," said Ms. Shabazz. Ms. Shabazz is married to Rashid, and they have four sons, Michael, Kwame, Bilal and Kimani.

Located between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is committed to becoming the best undergraduate teaching university in the South. An internationally recognized undergraduate marine biology program, coupled with a new facility for its Center for Marine Science, has put UNCW at the forefront of research to learn how the world's oceans affect human health and quality of life. In addition, the university has a critically acclaimed Creative Writing Department that attracts Pulitzer Prize-winning visiting writers and a growing Film Studies Program that works closely with Wilmington-based EUE Screen Gems Studios and other productions filmed locally, such as Dawson's Creek which uses the university's campus as a primary filming location.

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Dr. Cavanaugh can be reached for comment at 910/962-3137. NOTE: Electronic photo is available.