“Good Work Stands”
Darryl Holloman, PhD is a nationally recognized higher education executive, governance leader, scholar, and strategist whose career reflects more than three decades of commitment to institutional excellence, student success, organizational transformation, and community impact. With leadership experience spanning private and public universities, national professional associations, civic organizations, and governing and advisory bodies, Dr. Holloman has built a reputation for bringing people, strategy, resources, and mission together to produce meaningful results. His professional philosophy, “Good Works Stand,” captures a deeply held belief that leadership is ultimately measured by the enduring value it creates for institutions, communities, and the people they serve.
Dr. Holloman’s professional journey has been defined by steady progression through increasingly complex leadership responsibilities. After beginning his higher education career at Georgia State University in administrative coordination, academic advising, and student advocacy, he advanced to leadership positions at Rutgers University–Newark and Columbus State University before returning to Georgia State in senior executive roles. At Georgia State, he ultimately served as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, providing leadership during the institution’s historic consolidation with Georgia Perimeter College. His responsibilities included strategic planning, policy development, student engagement, crisis management, organizational integration, and oversight of programs serving a large and diverse university population.
That breadth of experience prepared Dr. Holloman for his role as Vice President for Student Affairs at Spelman College, where he served from 2018 through 2026 as a member of the President’s Cabinet and senior leadership team. His executive portfolio encompassed housing and residence life, health and wellness, student conduct, counseling, civic engagement, auxiliary services, campus security, spiritual life, and other critical components of the student experience. Working across academic and administrative divisions, he helped connect resource management, policy, assessment, institutional priorities, and student development with Spelman’s broader strategic vision.
Throughout his executive career, Dr. Holloman has demonstrated an ability to translate strategy into measurable institutional impact. His leadership has included involvement in more than $230 million in facility projects across multiple campuses, encompassing residence halls, student centers, recreation facilities, and other infrastructure. At Spelman, he collaborated with institutional partners on a $200 million residence hall expansion and renovation initiative, while his broader work has included securing millions of dollars in philanthropic, corporate, foundation, and grant support for student success, scholarships, emergency assistance, civic engagement, wellness, and institutional priorities. These accomplishments demonstrate a leadership approach that extends beyond program administration into financial stewardship, capital planning, partnership development, and long-range organizational sustainability.
Governance has been another defining dimension of Dr. Holloman’s career. He was elected Chair of the NASPA Board of Directors for the 2025–2028 term, providing national leadership within an association representing more than 15,000 higher education professionals. His board, civic, and advisory experience also encompasses organizations including the Human Rights Campaign, Families First, the Center for the Visually Impaired, Wesley International Charter School, the Rialto Center for the Arts, SACSCOC, the Associated Colleges of the South, the Atlanta University Center Consortium, and the Atlanta Council for Higher Education. He has additionally contributed through the 100 Black Men of Atlanta Education Task Force and faith-based board leadership. This combination of executive and governance experience has given him a sophisticated understanding of fiduciary responsibility, stakeholder engagement, institutional accountability, mission stewardship, and the relationship between boards and executive leadership.
Dr. Holloman brings particularly relevant expertise to organizations operating in education, government, housing, utilities, hospitality, and adjacent sectors. His leadership capabilities span strategic planning, budgeting and financial stewardship, institutional governance, organizational effectiveness, housing and auxiliary operations, crisis management, fundraising, accreditation, workforce and community partnerships, access and affordability, and large-scale change management. He has led substantial professional teams and multimillion-dollar operating portfolios while navigating environments in which operational decisions must remain closely aligned with mission, policy, stakeholder expectations, and long-term institutional goals. His experience partnering with K–12 districts, employers, community organizations, corporations, foundations, and government entities further strengthens the cross-sector perspective he can bring to corporate and advisory boards.
Beyond executive administration, Dr. Holloman has established a significant record as a scholar, author, speaker, and thought leader whose work explores leadership, institutional culture, philanthropy, the experiences of Black men and scholars, and the complexities shaping higher education. His scholarship includes contributions to The Handbook of Research on Black Males and a broader body of work examining HBCU leadership, organizational dynamics, equity, and the responsibilities of institutional leaders. His latest manuscript, In the Middle, builds upon these themes, offering perspective informed by his experiences navigating leadership, identity, institutional expectations, and the often complex spaces where competing priorities intersect. Across his writing and scholarship, Dr. Holloman brings together intellectual inquiry and firsthand executive experience, providing thoughtful insight into the cultural, organizational, and leadership challenges facing higher education institutions today.
An experienced keynote speaker and presenter, Dr. Holloman has shared his perspectives with audiences at national and international conferences, professional institutes, leadership summits, and higher education gatherings. His speaking topics have included future-ready leadership, student engagement, institutional resilience, corporate partnerships, retention, accreditation, crisis leadership, diversity, and student success. His international professional exposure includes presentations and educational work connected with Greece, Canada, Italy, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ireland, and England, further broadening his understanding of leadership and education across cultural contexts. His ability to communicate complex ideas to varied audiences has made public speaking and thought leadership natural extensions of his executive work.
Dr. Holloman’s academic preparation reinforces the depth of his professional experience. He earned a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies, a Master of Public Administration in Human Resource Development, and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Creative Writing emphasis from Georgia State University. His continuing executive development has included the Harvard Institute for Educational Management, the Council of Independent Colleges’ presidential preparation programming, the AGB Institute for Leadership and Governance, NASPA leadership institutes, and the Executive Leadership Institute. These experiences have strengthened an executive perspective already shaped by decades of managing organizations, people, budgets, partnerships, policy, and institutional change.
Service remains central to Dr. Holloman’s leadership identity. From civic and professional boards to education, faith-based organizations, and his personal passion for literacy, he views leadership as an opportunity to leave organizations stronger than he found them. Having spent much of his career serving public, civic, nonprofit, and higher education institutions, he is now particularly interested in extending that experience to private and corporate board environments. He seeks opportunities where his experience can help leadership teams evaluate complex challenges, strengthen governance, anticipate risk, steward resources responsibly, develop partnerships, and make strategic decisions with both immediate priorities and long-term impact in mind.
Dr. Holloman offers boards the perspective of an executive who has worked at the intersection of people, finance, infrastructure, governance, education, community, and institutional reputation. He understands that effective board service requires more than subject-matter expertise; it requires judgment, curiosity, preparation, collaboration, accountability, and the willingness to ask consequential questions. His career demonstrates a consistent commitment to those principles and to the conviction captured by his enduring professional motto: good work, thoughtfully pursued and responsibly led, stands the test of time.
Character:
Dr. Holloman leads from a service-centered philosophy grounded in integrity, responsibility, and the belief that “Good Works Stand.” His sustained involvement in education, civic organizations, professional associations, board service, and community initiatives reflects a commitment to creating lasting value beyond the boundaries of any single executive position.
Knowledge:
He combines decades of executive leadership with advanced academic preparation and extensive expertise in education, governance, budgeting, housing, organizational effectiveness, fundraising, accreditation, crisis management, and strategic partnerships. His scholarship and continued executive education further enable him to approach organizational challenges through both practical experience and disciplined intellectual inquiry.
Strategic:
Dr. Holloman has repeatedly connected institutional vision with execution, whether guiding multimillion-dollar budgets and capital initiatives, supporting organizational consolidation, developing partnerships, strengthening student-success systems, or contributing to board governance. He understands how to balance immediate operational demands with the long-term considerations of sustainability, organizational reputation, stakeholder needs, and mission.
Communication:
As an accomplished keynote speaker, author, presenter, executive, and board leader, Dr. Holloman is experienced in communicating sophisticated ideas to audiences ranging from trustees and senior executives to educators, community leaders, students, and national professional organizations. His communication style is informed by research, strengthened by extensive leadership experience, and focused on building understanding that can lead to thoughtful decisions and meaningful action.
