Dr. Peter Millet was inaugurated as the sixth president of Stillman College, a historically Presbyterian racial ethnic college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, last week. Representatives from the Stillman College board of trustees, local and county governments, the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the higher education community, and the Tuscaloosa community were present to celebrate.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and Jim Page, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, praised Millet's leadership and collaboration in the community. "As he walks forward, he will not be doing it alone. The faculty will be with him. The students will be with him. The city of Tuscaloosa will be with him. Most certainly as your mayor, I will be with him," Maddox said.

Simone Adams-Andrade, associate for Racial Ethnic Schools and Colleges in the Presbyterian Mission Agency said, “Dr. Peter Millet is a passionate leader. He is personable and makes an effort to maintain good relationships with staff, faculty, the student body, and the community at large.”

Prior to Millet’s appointment as president in July 2014, he served as interim president and also as the College's provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Millet was awarded a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology from Oakland University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Ohio State University. As a licensed clinical psychologist, he completed a residency at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and an internship at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Millet is also a jazz and gospel musician. He is married to Dr. Marcia Millet, who serves as the director of teacher education at Stillman. They have one daughter, Mackenzie, who is a student at Spelman College.

Millet is an active member of the Presidents’ Roundtable of Racial Ethnic Schools and Colleges in the Presbyterian Mission Agency. He noted that the college is working on academic programs targeting nontraditional student groups as well as the Hispanic community. "We must meet students where they are and help guide them to their destiny," he said. Millet also said Stillman is reducing its tuition in the fall to make college more affordable.

Stillman College is one of the country’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). It was founded in 1876 by a group of Presbyterians led by Rev. Charles Allen Stillman, who submitted an overture to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) requesting the establishment of a training school for African-American ministers.

In 2004, Stillman College received its first-ever ranking among top-tier schools in U.S. News and World Report. This historically Presbyterian racial ethnic institution (HPREI) educates young adults for professions of their choice in a manner that takes into account the racial ethnic heritage of its students.

"We believe in the words of Nelson Mandela that education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world," Millet said.