Vice President of University Advancement, Mountain State University
by Jeremy Jarrell
Standing in front of her second-grade class in Beckley, Roslyn Artis proudly proclaimed that she wanted to be a lawyer. Not a common statement from a young girl in the early 1970s, but Artis would prove again and again that she could be anything she wanted to be.
Artis, the 37-year-old vice president of university advancement for Mountain State University, West Virginia’s third largest higher education establishment, continues to achieve her goals—even after a successful legal career. “Hard work has not been an option in my life. My parents taught me the value of hard work very early on. The harder you work at something, the better you will be at it. I have no desire to be anything less than the best,” she explains. “My ambition has served me well over time.”
Her tenacity proved itself with her first job. At age 15, Artis lied about her age at a fast-food restaurant to help support her family before she was caught and let go. She used the same work ethic in her academic success. She finished her undergraduate studies at West Virginia State University a semester early, and while waiting to begin West Virginia University School of Law in the fall, she didn’t spend her time idly but began work for an insurance company, she says.
“I have not accomplished anything alone,” Artis explains. “At various stages I have sought out, and been fortunate to find, wonderful mentors. I am a product of the public school system and every teacher I had was stellar, from my second grade teacher, Debra Foster, on up through high school.” She credits her aunt, Augusta Clark, an attorney and 20-year veteran of the Philadelphia City Council, who “has always been gracious about exposing me to new things and to successful people. I have always tried to model myself after her academically and in her leadership style.”
She also credits the faculty at West Virginia State University and her experience as an attorney for Brown & Levicoff and the Wooton Law Firm in Beckley for providing her with ample opportunity to develop as a young lawyer. At Brown & Levicoff, Artis was given a rare opportunity for a first-year attorney.
“They allowed me to write the brief and sent me in to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court—and we won it! It was really a unique experience for a first-year associate. This was one of many unique opportunities that I have been given. If there is a theme to my life it is I have had wonderful opportunities to learn and lots of room to grow,” she says.
Artis is now growing into an academic life; she has moved on from practicing law and is now in the academic setting at MSU, where her duties include corporate, governmental and alumni relations, development and fundraising, as well as public relations. “As a lawyer you want to win your cases; in a university setting you want to advance your institution. Now I argue on behalf of Mountain Statue University as opposed to individual clients,” she says. “Dr. (Charles H.) Polk (MSU’s President) has given me tremendous opportunities to grow within the realm of higher education.”
What keeps her motivated? “My competitive spirit. I tell people all the time that I never want to be the dumbest person in the room on any subject. I will work as hard as I have to in order to be prepared,” says Artis. “I think very little of value comes to people who aren’t willing to work hard.”
Although busy, Artis remains active in her two sons’ lives, who she says are the most important things to her, and she extends her caring for young people to community organizations including the NAACP. “I think our kids don’t always have role models. For young girls, education is clearly the best opportunity for them to advance personally and professionally. Now that I work in higher education, I always recommend going to college. It’s not even negotiable,” she says. Forever reaching new goals, Artis is continuing her own education by pursuing her doctorate degree at Vanderbilt University in Higher Education Leadership and Policy.
Photography by Rick Lee
