Melvin T. Stith (B.S. ’68) and Dr. Patricia Lynch Stith (B.S. ’68)
In November 2017, Dr. Melvin T. Stith was appointed Interim President of his undergraduate alma mater, Norfolk State University. He was the first alumnus to serve in that capacity. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Stith served as Vice Rector of the Norfolk State University Board of Visitors. A 1968 graduate of Norfolk State, Dr. Stith and his wife, Dr. Patricia Lynch Stith, also an NSU graduate, provided funding for the Melvin and Patricia Stith Alumni House and the Dr. Patricia Lynch Stith Student Success Center. They are members of the Lyman Beecher Brooks Society giving society at Norfolk State University. In January 2005, Dr. Stith became the sixteenth dean of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University (SU). He served in that capacity until June 2013.
Upon leaving the deanship, he was a professor of marketing in the Whitman School of Management. He retired in January 2015. From 1991 to 2004, he was dean and the Jim Moran Professor of Business Administration in the College of Business at Florida State University and previously was associate professor and chair of the department of marketing. From 1982 to 1985, he was a visiting professor in the School of Business and Industry at Florida A&M University. He served as associate dean and assistant professor in the College of Business at the University of South Florida from 1977 to 1982.
Dr. Stith has served on numerous corporate boards, including Synovus Financial Corp., Aflac, Rexall Sundown, Keebler Foods, and Tallahassee State Bank. He chaired the Graduate Management Admission Test Council and served on the boards of Beta Gamma Sigma, the Jim Moran Foundation, Syracuse Stage, and Crouse Hospital. He was president of the Crouse Hospital Foundation (2012–2015) and helped establish Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, including its first bootcamp for veterans with disabilities.
Dr. Patricia Lynch Stith, an accomplished educator and administrator, is known for her contributions to academic success programs, particularly at Norfolk State University and Syracuse University. She is a former assistant provost for equity and inclusion at Syracuse. Her background includes a strong commitment to education and community service, particularly for underrepresented groups in STEM fields. Her commitment has included administering research experiences for undergraduates in STEM majors and supporting initiatives that foster academic growth and leadership among students.
The Dr. Patricia Lynch Stith Student Success Center at Norfolk State University is named in her honor. The center focuses on providing resources and support to enhance student success and engagement on campus. At Syracuse University, Dr. Stith was the Principal Investigator for the Bridge to Doctorate Fellowship Program, a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation initiative funded by the National Science Foundation, from 2003 to 2005. Additionally, while at Syracuse University, she and her husband, Dr. Melvin T. Stith, also an NSU graduate, created the Patricia and Melvin Stith Graduate Student Fund. The purpose of the fund is to support veteran and/or military-connected graduate students enrolled full-time as part of Syracuse University’s Our Time Has Come Scholarship Program. This fund supports academic research, data gathering, the purchase of databases, and travel to academic conferences to present academic papers.
Patricia Lynch Stith’s dedication to education and her efforts to support minority students have left a lasting impact on the institutions she has been part of, making her a notable figure in the field of academic support and administration.