Ben Vinson III is an American historian, currently serving as the 18th president of Howard University since September 2023.
Vinson is originally from Rapid City, South Dakota,[1][2] and spent part of his childhood on military bases in Italy.
[3] His father was a master sergeant in the United States Air Force,[2][3] and his mother was an elementary school teacher.
[1][4] Vinson served on the faculties of Barnard College and Pennsylvania State University before joining Johns Hopkins University as a professor of history and served as the Herbert Baxter Adams Professor of Latin American History and vice dean of centers, interdisciplinary studies and graduate education.
[10] He also spearheaded diversity initiatives including the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute that provides funding for high school juniors from their undergraduate to post-doctoral studies.