Biography

Sidney A. Ribeau, Ph.D.
President

Sidney A. Ribeau, Ph.D., is the 16th President of Howard University and the sixth African American to serve as its Chief Executive Officer. Since taking office in August 2008, Dr. Ribeau has championed improving services to students through his Students First Campaign, strengthening research with emphasis in the STEM disciplines, enhancing the University’s international footprint and building upon a legacy of service.

He was President of Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Bowling Green, Ohio, for 13 years before coming to Howard. Under his leadership, BGSU was recognized for its residential learning communities, values-based education and innovative graduate programs.

President Ribeau began his career in 1976 as a professor of communication studies at California State University, Los Angeles. Eight years later, after being honored as an outstanding teacher and student adviser, he became chair of the University's Pan African Studies Department. He held that position until 1987, when he was named Dean of Undergraduate Studies at California State University, San Bernardino. Three years later, he became Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo campus. In 1992, he was named Vice President for Academic Affairs at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, a position he held until his appointment to BGSU.

On a national level, President Ribeau serves on the boards of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF); Worthington Industries; and the Committee on Underrepresented Groups and the Expansion of the Science and Engineering Workforce Pipeline, under the aegis of the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy. He has served on the boards of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the United Way, the Regional Growth Partnership, the Andersons Inc. (Maumee, OH), and Convergys Corp. Some of his numerous honors include distinguished alumnus awards from Wayne State University and University of Illinois, scholarly recognition from the National Communication Association and the President's Award from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

President Ribeau received a B.S. degree from Wayne State University, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in interpersonal and group communication from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He and his wife, Dr. Paula Whetsel-Ribeau, are the proud parents of two daughters and one son.