Patrena B. Elliott Ph.D.

Over the past 28 years, Dr. Patrena Benton Elliott has developed an extensive higher education career. On January 1, 2023, Dr. Elliott began serving as the sixth and first female President of Halifax Community College. Prior to this appointment, she served as Vice President and Chief Academic and Student Affairs Officer at Robeson Community College in Lumberton, NC. In addition to this leadership role, Dr. Elliott has held several senior administrative positions to include: Vice President of Academic Affairs, Graduate College Dean, Honors College Director, and Chief Executive Officer of a statewide inter-institutional center in the University of North Carolina System. Over her career, she has established academic programs from certificate to graduate level, raised millions of dollars in institutional funding, mentored countless students, and has presented extensively throughout the country.

Dr. Elliott earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a M.S. in Adult Education and a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from North Carolina A&T State University. As a lifelong learner, she also holds Higher Education/Leadership Certificates from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, Leadership Raleigh, Hampton University, and the University of North Carolina System.

Dr. Elliott has been inducted in several honor societies and is the recipient of numerous leadership awards. Given that she believes, “to whom much is given, much is required,” she also holds memberships in several service organizations including: The Links, Incorporated and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated. Dr. Patrena Benton Elliott is married to Dr. Stanley Elliott and together they are the proud parents of a daughter, Jordan, a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and a son, Sterling, a freshman and Cheatham White Scholar at North Carolina Central University.