Virginia State University President Makola M. Abdullah was named Male President of the Year at the 2017 HBCU Awards presented by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

The awards ceremony was part of the HBCU Executive Media Training Institute held July 13 and 14 in Washington hosted by HBCU Digest.

Shaw University President Tashni Dubroy was named HBCU Female President of the Year.

Dr. Abdullah’s award was one of two VSU received during the event.

VSU’s Reginald F. Lewis College of Business also was named the HBCU Best Business Program. Named after the late lawyer and VSU alumnus Reginald F. Lewis, the college is among 756 business schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

VSU also was a finalist in five other categories — Best Student Government Association, Best Choir, Alumna of the Year, Male Coach of the Year and HBCU of the Year.

The three other historically black colleges and universities in Virginia also made the list, with Norfolk State University awarded Best Fine Arts Program and Hampton University student Aria Hill, a rising senior from Columbia, S.C., winning Female Student of the Year.

Virginia Union University was a finalist in the categories of Female Coach of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year and Women’s Team of the Year.

Central State University, a state-supported HBCU in Wilberforce, Ohio, was named the 2017 HBCU of the Year.

Finalists were selected from more than 175 nominations from HBCUs across the nation. — HOLLY RODRIGUEZ and JULEXUS CAPPELL