Prairie View A&M University President Tomikia LeGrande sets sights on student success

Before she ever stepped into a university president’s office, Dr. Tomikia LeGrande understood something about power that does not show up on résumés. 

It lived in the soil.

In rural Georgia, where her family worked land they had fought to own, she saw how access to property and education could shape generations.

Years later, sitting at the helm of Prairie View A&M University, that same understanding guides her. Talent can be found everywhere, but opportunity may not. Closing that gap, she believes, is the real work of higher education.

“I have this connection to history, legacy, and land for the production of not just food, but also generational wealth,” LeGrande said. “I grew up in a family where love abounded, but opportunities were not always as prevalent in my neighborhood. That made me want to understand why opportunity was not as equally distributed as talent is in this world.”

Growing up

As a low-income, first-generation college student, that perspective would later guide her work in higher education.

At Savannah State University, where she studied chemistry, LeGrande’s trajectory shifted during a chance encounter with the university’s president, who asked about her future plans.

Her response, half-joking, was bold. She might want his job one day.

His reply stayed with her, “Prepare well and come get it.”

From that moment, LeGrande began building a career that blended student advocacy and institutional leadership. 

She earned a master’s degree in chemistry from North Carolina A&T State University, where she also began recruiting students into graduate programs. She went on to hold leadership roles at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Houston-Downtown, and Winston-Salem State University, focusing on enrollment and student success.

Now, as president of Prairie View A&M University, LeGrande aims to continue building on her past achievements and expand opportunities for students.

Leading PVAMU

LeGrande became president of Prairie View A&M in 2023, following the tenure of Dr. Ruth Simmons, who elevated the university’s national profile.

Now, LeGrande is focused on what she calls the institution’s “next level,” a vision outlined in the 10-year strategic plan, “Journey to Eminence: 2035.”

This comprises becoming a top-tier public historically Black university, achieving an esteemed research status, admitting more students, and ensuring graduation rates remain high.

Currently classified as a Research 2 institution, Prairie View aims to reach Research 1 status, an elite designation held by only one HBCU in the country, Howard University.

“Our faculty is committed to engaging in proactive and concerted efforts to increase our research contracts and grant amounts, while also graduating more students and expanding the types of research conducted on our campus,” said Dr. Magesh Rajan, vice president for research and innovation at PVAMU. “Their tireless efforts in securing funding, publishing impactful research, mentoring the next generation of scholars, and fostering innovation have been instrumental in maintaining our institution’s place among the nation’s top research universities.”

For LeGrande, prestige is only part of the goal.

“There are so many people in the state of Texas who think very highly of Prairie View,” she said. “But the further east you go beyond the Mississippi, and the further west you go beyond Arkansas, most people are not as familiar with Prairie View. We want to raise their awareness and deepen their perception to understand that excellence lives here.”

LeGrande added that more students entering college over the next 10 years will be first-generation, lower-income, or from rural communities.

“That’s who Prairie View specializes in,” she said, with nearly 18% of Prairie View students coming from families who made about $20,000 or less per year.

Growth brings both opportunity and pressure

Under LeGrande’s leadership, Prairie View has seen a surge in demand, reaching 10,085 students this fall, up from 9,821 in 2024 and 9,415 in 2023. For the first time in its history, the university has a waiting list.

“Having a waiting list, what does that mean?” she said. “It doesn’t mean that you’re trying to be ultra selective. It means that there is more interest in your institution than you can accommodate. That’s a great place to be in.”

While that growth signals rising national recognition, it also introduces new challenges, particularly around resources and maintaining quality.

Balancing expansion with access remains a central tension. LeGrande has prioritized partnerships with community colleges to create alternative pathways for students who cannot be immediately admitted, ensuring access is not lost even when capacity is limited.

A “culture of care” model

At the core of LeGrande’s strategy are student success and enrollment.

In fall 2024, Prairie View launched “PV Cares,” a comprehensive support model that assigns every undergraduate student to a three-person team: An academic advisor, a financial counselor, and a career coach.

The goal is to address barriers beyond academics, particularly for students navigating financial insecurity or unfamiliar systems.

“If you think about who we serve, providing access is not just opening the door; it is also about support inside and outside the classroom,” LeGrande said. “Our faculty inside the classroom are constantly thinking about…how do they need to redesign their curriculum to make sure it’s preparing students for the workforce of tomorrow, not just of today. They are really intensely involved in thinking about artificial intelligence, about supply chain management, and other high-demand fields.

The financial component is especially critical. About 81% of Prairie View students graduated with debt in 2023, a reality LeGrande is actively working to change through increased scholarships and philanthropic investments.

“When a student gets a scholarship from the institution or from a donor, it says you believe in them,” she said. “It says that you believe that they are capable and that you’re investing in them. That’s a very powerful tool for a student who might be worried about whether they have enough. Intrinsic motivation is one of the most important factors for a student to have a push to a degree.”

Navigating politics

LeGrande’s presidency comes at a time when higher education, particularly public institutions in Texas, is facing increasing political scrutiny around curriculum and diversity initiatives.

Her approach, she said, is rooted in clarity of purpose.

“Politics to me is about how you manage competing priorities and alternative interests that may not have originated with you,” LeGrande explained. “In this climate, what I have said to our campus and what I say is that, as an institution, we remain committed to our mission…providing opportunity to advance. When there are questions about DEI and limitations, I oftentimes go back to, can we still fulfill our mission with new restrictions? If you read the legislation for what it is, there’s still space for us to do the things that really personify PVAMU as a unique institution.”