Antoinette Candia-Bailey

Antoinette Bonnie Candia-Bailey (March 12, 1974 – January 8, 2024) was an American academic administrator who served in 2023 as the vice president for student affairs at Lincoln University of Missouri (a historically black college) in 2023. After she died by suicide early the next year, a national discussion on the treatment of black women in higher education took place.

Life
Candia-Bailey was born in 1975 (age 49) to Veronica Joyce Candia and Robert Bonner in Chicago. Her paternal grandparents were Marion G. Candia and Myrtle F. Candia.

She completed a B.S. in sociology at Lincoln University in 1998. She joined Alpha Kappa Alpha in November 1995. She earned an M.A. in rehabilitation counseling-disability studies from Michigan State University in 2001. Candia-Bailey completed a Ph.D. in leadership studies from North Carolina A&T State University in 2016. Her dissertation was titled, My Sister, Myself: The Identification of Sociocultural Factors that Affect the Advancement of African-American Women into Senior-Level Administrative Positions. Comfort Okpala was her doctoral advisor.

Candia-Bailey was the assistant director of university housing at North Carolina State University. She served as the director of academic excellence at North Carolina A&T State University. She was the assistant vice president of student affairs-housing and residence life at Towson University. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she was the associate dean of students and student life. Later she served as the senior project coordinator to the deputy vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion. On April 1, 2020, Candia-Bailey became the first vice president of student affairs and chief diversity officer at Elms College.

On May 1, 2023, she returned to her alma mater, Lincoln University, as its vice president for student affairs. On January 3, 2024, Candia-Bailey received a termination letter.

Candia-Bailey had married Anthony R. Bailey on January 28, 2012, in Greensboro, North Carolina. She had two stepdaughters.

Death
On January 8, 2024, she sent an email to president John B. Moseley alleging that he had subjected her to months of harassment, bullying, and racial discrimination. She died by suicide the same day, at the age of 49. Her death prompted protests on campus and a national discussion on the treatment of Black women in higher education. Moseley was later cleared by an investigative board of any wrong doing or misconduct and was not linked to the suicide. He returned to his duties at the university. The university was also cleared of any allegation of mistreatment.