Barber-Scotia College President Chris Rey touts revival 

BARBER-SCOTIA COLLEGE

Barber-Scotia College President Chris Rey told a gathering of the National Council of Negro Women that the Concord school is pursuing its goal of earning accreditation in 2026, 22 years after losing it. Rey has been Barber-Scotia's president since 2023.

Two years into his tenure as Barber-Scotia College president, Chris Rey is touting the school’s revival.

Rey was hired during educational and operational deficits, with declining enrollment, $500,000 in arrears and more than two decades without accreditation. His challenge was straightforward: grow enrollment and drive down debt to move the historically Black college toward sustainability. To make it happen, he pooled alumni and community support for academic and community programs.

“When an HBCU thrives, the community thrives,” Rey told the National Council of Negro Women’s Charlotte Section Brotherhood and Sisterhood last month, where he received an award for investments in scholarship. “When Black institutions are strengthening, Black futures are expanding. Organizations like the National Council of Negro Women are algorithmic changers and shifters. You recognize leadership, you cultivate excellence.”

Rey, the former international president of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, told the gathering Barber-Scotia was “born in the aftermath of slavery” but “rooted in the belief that education is liberation.”

“When I arrived, we faced significant challenges,” he said. “Limited enrollment, financial strain, accreditation hurdles, and deferred maintenance. The algorithm was survival. But we made a decision we would not let the narrative define who we were. We would change that algorithm, we shifted from scarcity to strategy, from decline to determination, and from survival to sustainability.” 

Founded as an all-women’s school and best known as alma mater of NCNW founder Mary McCloud-Bethune, Shaw University President Paulette Dillard, and Vivian Ayers Allen, the mother of Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen, was on the brink of closing before Rey stepped on campus. 

In Rey’s first year as president, BSC underwent a series of changes: gaining property tax exemption and a small volunteer staff to support an enrollment of over 100 students. One of his first goals was to hire staff, which included former High Point University professor Christopher Hinton as vice president for recruitment and first-year experience. Hinton, who is also chief of staff, recruits Cabarrus and Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schools for students along with Senior Vice President of Government and External Affairs LaToya Crawford, Vice President of Student Services Tiffany Tuma and Executive Vice President and Provost Kenneth Taylor.

That team promotes the Barber-Scotia RISING (Rebuilding – Instruction – Strategy – Infrastructure – Network –Governance) fundraising campaign.

“We decided to re-engage our alumni, we are building partnerships, we launched our new programs, we reopened residence halls, we raised funds transparently, we told the truth about our challenges, and we invited the community to be a part of our solution,” Rey said. “And guess what? Enrollment grew. Donor engagement increased. Athletics returned. Community partnerships were strengthened and hope returned to 145 Cabarrus Avenue. Not because it was easy, but because we changed the code.” 

The goal is to earn accreditation this year and eventually offer automatic acceptance to Cabarrus students to drive enrollment. 

“We decided that a 158-year-old Black institution was too valuable to disappear,” Rey said. 



 

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