The Presidential Legacy Page 22 - August 2016
Dr. Herman B. Smith, Jr. was appointed interim president in 1991. During his administration, the University reduced its overall debt, improved fiscal management practices, increased campus security measures and launched a campus improvement project that involved the community.
Ayer
Reddix
Jackson State University’s distinguished history began in 1877 with Natchez Seminary, a private church school under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. Beginning with only 20 students and Dr. Charles Ayers as its first president, the Seminary educated newly freed African Americans and trained ministers and teachers.
Dr. Jacob L. Reddix, the school’s fifth president, became the first president under state control when he was elected in 1940, the same year the College became known as the Mississippi Negro Training School. Soon thereafter, the School reorganized its curriculum and offered two years of college work. In 1942, the state Institutions of Higher Learning elevated the curriculum to a four-year teacher education program. The first four-year graduating class under state support received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in May 1944, two months after the School was renamed the Jackson College for Negro Teachers.
Barrett The Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, to the land where Millsaps College now stands. Dr. Luther G. Barrett was appointed as the second president twelve years later, and in 1899, the Seminary became Jackson College in recognition of its new, central location. Three years later, construction began on the site where the University currently resides.
Peoples
Lyons Dr. James E. Lyons, Sr. assumed the presidency a year later. He developed a Campus Master Plan projecting the growth of the University well into the 21st Century. A $13.5 million expansion and renovation of the H.T. Sampson Library essentially doubled its size. A $2 million restoration of historic Ayer Hall also was completed, and construction on a home for the School of Liberal Arts began. Dr. Lyons’ leadership also resulted in fifteen new graduate and undergraduate programs. These academic achievements were bolstered by the following: the establishment of the School of Social Work; the formation of the School of Engineering; the expansion of the Master’s in Public Policy and Administration to departmental status, making it the only such department in Mississippi’s higher education system; the opening of the School of Allied Health Sciences; and the accreditation of the School of Business.
In 1967, after the state had taken control of the school and renamed it, Jackson State College, Dr. John A. Peoples, Jr. was appointed its sixth president. He was the first alumnus to lead the College. In 1974, through a Legislative act, the College became Jackson State University. Five years later, the Institutions of Higher Learning officially designated it as Mississippi’s Urban University.
McLemore Fletcher
Hubert In 1911, Dr. Zachary T. Hubert became the third president. During his administration, the College broadened its course of study, organized departments and initiated a second building program. Those enhancements allowed the College to award its first bachelor’s degree in 1924.
Hefner Dr. James A. Hefner became the University’s seventh president in 1984. He immediately launched a fiveyear, $10 million capital campaign that generated $11.2 million. His administration enhanced the scholarship program, established a Community Development Corporation to improve blighted areas around the campus, organized a Staff Senate, created the Center for Professional Development and the Center for Technology Transfer, and expanded programs through the Division of Continuing Education and the Universities Center.
Dansby Three years later, Dr. B. Baldwin Dansby was appointed as the fourth president. During this period, the College primarily focused on educating in-service teachers. After the Society withdrew its support in 1934, Dr. Dansby arranged for the state to take control of the College.
Smith
converted to the Mississippi e-Center @ JSU, a technological hub for corporate, community and academic advancement. President Mason’s administration continued its improvement initiative with the development of a five-squaremile urban laboratory surrounding the campus called e-City, a technologybased economic, housing and community development initiative. The University also partnered with the city and state to create the Mississippi Learning Institute, a reading-based, math-oriented system for pre-K through 16. Moreover, the $17 million College of Liberal Arts, the $20 million College of Business, the $13 million Walter Payton Health and Wellness Center, the $24.5 million Student Center, and new dorms and apartments have enhanced the University’s landscape. Gibbs-Green Plaza, which encompasses an expanded pedestrian mall and decorative brick walkway, beckons students and visitors to the campus near downtown Jackson. Work is in progress on the $20 million School of Engineering, and the Lynch Street Corridor, which will feature small businesses and services catering to the campus community. Under President Mason’s leadership, the University continues to enhance its legacy of academic excellence. In 2006, Diverse Issues in Higher Education ranked the University ranked No. 1 in producing African Americans with bachelor’s degrees in Education, No. 2 in producing African Americans with doctorates in Physical Science, No. 2 in producing African Americans with bachelor’s degrees in Biological and Biomedical Sciences and No. 3 in producing African Americans with bachelor’s degrees in English. Among the “Top 100 Degree Producers,” the University ranks No. 9 in conferring bachelor’s degrees to African Americans when compared with other Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Traditionally White Institutions. Black Enterprise ranked the University No. 28 among the “Top 50 Universities for African Americans.”
In 1999, Dr. Bettye Ward Fletcher was named interim president. During her tenure, the University garnered two of the largest monetary awards: a $2 million donation to the Jackson State University Development Foundation from Attorney Frederick B. Clark, an alumnus, and his wife, Margaret; and a $12.9 million research grant to serve as the coordinating center for the Jackson Heart Study.
In July 2010, Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore was named interim president of the University. Dr. McLemore has enjoyed a distinguished career of more than 35 years at Jackson State University, serving as the founding Chair of the Department of Political Science and a member of its faculty from 19712009. He has also served as Dean of the Graduate School, founding Director of the Office of Research Administration and Acting Director of the Universities Center. At the time of his appointment, Dr. McLemore was serving as director of the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy at Jackson State.
Mason Moving forward to the University’s more recent history, Ronald Mason, Jr., Esquire, was appointed the University’s ninth president on February 1, 2000. Early in his tenure, the University implemented Vision 2020 as a benchmark of academywide efficiency and effectiveness. As a result, eight schools were combined into six colleges: Business; Education and Human Development; Liberal Arts; Lifelong Learning; Public Service; and Science, Engineering and Technology. Under President Mason’s leadership, the University acquired a $20 million facility from Allstate Corporation for only $3 million. The facility has been
Meyers In January 2011, Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers became president of the University. Dr. Meyers has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, serving most recently as president of Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va. With an enrollment of more than 8,600 students, Jackson State University provides students from more than 50 foreign countries and nearly all of Mississippi’s 82 counties with the academic opportunities to develop knowledge and skills to succeed.