N. Joyce Payne, Ed.D., is the Director of the Office for the Advancement of Public Black Colleges (OAPBC) of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) in cooperation with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). OAPBC is an information and advocacy office that represents 39 of the largest and most prestigious historically black public colleges and universities in the nation. In her role as a Gallup Senior Scientist, Payne is leading Gallup's research, analysis and reporting on the current state of women in the world with a special emphasis on women in sub-Saharan Africa.
Before joining OAPBC, Payne was the president of Global Systems, Inc. and was a senior staff member under the Carter administration with the President's Advisory Committee for Women; President's National Advisory Council on Women's Education Programs, and the White House Conference on Families. She taught at the former Federal City College and at George Washington University.
An authority on women's issues in relation to higher education and labor force participation, Payne has published and presented a number of papers on "Women in Administration in Higher Education"; "Women in Urban School Systems"; Women and the Consequences of Power"; "Maintaining the Competitive Tradition" in Minorities in Higher Education; "Hidden Messages in the Pursuit of Equality" in Academe; and "Black Colleges in an Expanding Economy" in the American Council on Education's Educational Record.
Payne received a bachelor's degree in speech pathology from the District of Columbia Teachers College and earned her master's and doctorate degrees from Atlanta University in higher education. She received a Presidential Medal from Delaware State University in 2003 and has received honorary doctorates from Lincoln University of Missouri and the University of the District of Columbia. She was inducted into the District of Columbia's Hall of Fame in 2001. She served on the board of trustees of the University of the District of Columbia for nine years and was elected chair of the Board of Trustees from 1985-1988. In 1987, she created the nationally recognized Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, designed exclusively for exceptional students at public black colleges and universities. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
Payne is one of the founders of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. and a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. She has received awards from the Ford Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the U.S. Air Force. Payne has also served on the distinguished Foreign Service Performance Evaluation Board of the U.S. Department of State.
