The next president of Virginia State University is to be announced this week.

He is Dr. Makola M. Abdullah, 46, provost and chief academic officer of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., VSU disclosed Wednesday evening.

Cincinnati City Manager Harry E. Black, rector of the VSU Board of Visitors, is scheduled to introduce Dr. Abdullah on Friday, Dec. 11, as the 14th president of the 133-year-old university located near Petersburg.

An academic veteran, Dr. Abdullah has served as Bethune-Cookman’s provost since 2013. His career also includes stints as provost of Florida Memorial University and as dean of the College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture at Florida A&M University.

Mr. Black, who chaired the VSU search committee, hired the Chicago native and Howard University graduate after receiving authority from the board in November “to negotiate and execute a contract” with the board’s top choice, according to the minutes.

To confirm he acted properly, Mr. Black released a statement Wednesday from the university’s legal representative, Ronald C. Forehand, senior assistant attorney general. In the statement, Mr. Forehand confirms that the Board of Visitors passed a “resolution delegating to the rector the authority” to make the deal with the incoming president and to sign the contract.

“That has been done,” Mr. Forehand stated.

Word of the appointment began to leak Monday after VSU staff raced to compile a list of alumni, donors and other guests and to issue email invitations to the announcement and reception at 10 a.m. in the Engineering and Technology Building Auditorium.

The announcement will come on the eve of VSU’s winter commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 12, at which the outgoing interim president, Dr. Pamela V. Hammond, is to receive an honorary degree in recognition of her service.

It also will take place just days after the university’s accrediting body extended a warning against VSU about concerns involving the school’s governance and financial control of its independent foundations.

Dr. Abdullah is expected to arrive in January to begin the transition and officially take the helm Feb. 1. Dr. Hammond’s contract as interim president will expire Jan. 31.

Dr. Hammond, a former provost at Hampton University, has led VSU since Jan. 1, and is the first woman to serve as the school’s chief executive.

Dr. Abdullah could not be reached for comment.

When reached by phone Tuesday to confirm the report of a new president, Mr. Black would say only, “There has been no announcement yet.”

Behind the scenes, several board members grumbled Wednesday that Mr. Black had moved too quickly and too secretively, even raising questions about the legality of the process, though Mr. Forehand’s statement quickly dispelled that concern.

The upset members claimed Mr. Black never provided them with information on the contract nor sought their approval and kept them in the dark about the purpose of Friday’s announcement.

“Dr. Abdullah was the top candidate,” a board member told the Free Press on the condition of not being identified. “However, it was understood that before he or anyone was hired, the contract would be brought back to the board for review and approval. The expectation was that the announcement would come in January.”

Some faculty members also are complaining about Mr. Black’s and the board’s failure to allow the Faculty Senate to play more of a role in the selection, or at least meet the top two candidates in advance of the contract award.

The selection of Dr. Abdullah caps a yearlong search that began at the same time Dr. Hammond was named as interim president in November 2014. She had competed for the permanent position, but dropped out when she was unable to secure enough support from the board.

Dr. Abdullah earned his undergraduate degree from Howard University and master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering from Northwestern University. As provost and chief academic officer, Dr. Abdullah has overseen academic and research programs at Bethune-Cookman University.

As Florida Memorial University’s provost, Dr. Abdullah was credited with leading the institution’s successful re-accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and for increasing grant funding for research projects.

He also created centers of academic support and retention to reduce the number of students dropping out for failing to meet academic requirements.

Earlier, he spent 15 years at Florida A&M University, where he won credit for increasing enrollment and research grants as dean of the College of Engineering Sciences, Technology and Agriculture. He also started the CESTA Scholars program to provide opportunities for students to be involved in research and agriculture extension programs.

Dr. Abdullah has published 24 papers related to earthquake and wind engineering and has sought to increase the number of African-Americans in the professional fields of science, mathematics and engineering.

He is the husband of Dr. Ahkinyala Cobb-Abdullah, an assistant professor of integrated environmental science at Bethune-Cookman. The couple have a son, Mikaili, and a daughter, Sefiyetu.