‘She endured cruelty’: what led to a leader’s death at a historically Black university?

Antoinette Candia-Bailey was a beloved administrator at Lincoln University. Her suicide devastated a community - and roiled Black academia

Antoinette Candia-Bailey couldn't wait to slap a Lincoln University bumper sticker on her mother's car upon receiving her acceptance letter to the historically Black college. After graduating in the late 90s with a degree in sociology, she made regular trips back to the central Missouri school to celebrate homecoming with her sisters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc, the nation's oldest Black sorority. When a position as vice-president of student affairs came available at Lincoln in spring 2023, Candia-Bailey - a polished administrator with a PhD in leadership studies, whom most knew as Bonnie" - saw fit to continue her higher-ed career where it started. I don't know anybody who loved that school more than she did," says Monica Graham, a former classmate.

But when the two met up at homecoming last October, Graham couldn't help noticing a dip in her friend's school spirit. Things have gotten really, really bad at the university," Candia-Bailey told her, but I'm not going to let it kill me." Three months later, Candia-Bailey was found dead by suicide at age 49. Says Graham: My heart just dropped."