my heart into good ground, and Jackson State is good ground. We want to ensure the opportunities we had through the Honors College are there for the next generation.” Hinds County Attorney Malcolm Harrison’s JSU legacy stems back to his formative years. A 1991 JSU graduate with a degree in political science, Harrison attended JSU’s day care. “I’ve been going to JSU all my life. My first graduation was from Jackson State,” he said. Harrison grew up in the JSU community with his mother, Dr. Alferdteen Harrison, longtime Professor of History and Director of the Margaret Walker A l e x a n d e r Hinds County Attorney Malcolm Harrison, ‘91 National Research Center, who lived in the faculty apartments. His younger brother, Dr. Ojinga Harrison, a psychiatrist in Durham, N.C., also attended the Honors College. In his second term as Hinds County Attorney, Malcolm Harrison always knew he would attend Jackson State and eventually pursue a law career. “I had scholarships to Ole Miss and the University of Kansas, but I always knew in my heart that I wanted to be at JSU.” Harrison, who received the juris doctor degree from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, was the first African American elected to a countywide position in a general election in the history of Hinds County in 1999. He was re-elected in November 2003 and is responsible for prosecuting all misdemeanors and felonies committed in Hinds County as well as misdemeanors in youth court. Harrison, a partner in Harrison and Flowers PLLC law firm, said the Honors College at JSU ably prepared him
for his legal career. “Law school is a competitive environment. You need to be challenged to rise to the occasion. Honors College challenged me to do my best with difficult work.” JSU alumna Jamila Alexander, a third-year Harvard University law student, credits the Honors College with preparing her for the rigors of an Ivy League university professional program. “The real value of the Honors College is that during your first two years, you’re taking classes with students who are highly motivated and actively involved in healthy competition to succeed,” said Alexander, who graduated in 2000 with a perfect 4.0 grade point average in physics. “It was just expected of you that you would go on to graduate school or professional school of some type.” Asked how she made the leap from physics to law, Alexander said the discipline of scientific inquiry taught her “to analyze problems and to think critically, which is a crucial skill set for law.” Alexander’s JSU ties run deep. The daughter of Dr. McKinley Alexander, an Associate Professor of Economics, Finance and General Business at JSU, and Jennette Lee Alexander, a JSU alumna, Jamila Alexander always knew she would be a Jamila Alexander Blue Bengal. “I’ve been going to foot2000 Harvard University ball games forever and participating Law Student in summer programs since the 7th grade.” She applied to two other universities besides JSU for the sole purpose of gaining access to research opportunities there. Ultimately, her choice was JSU. While an undergraduate student, Alexander completed summer research institutes at the University of Minnesota, Stanford University, and the University of Michigan. She plans to practice at Forman, Perry, Watkins, Krutz & Tardy LLP law firm in Jackson after receiving her J.D. from Harvard in June. Given the opportunity, Alexander said she would make the same educational choices again. “Having gone to Jackson State University and coming here to Harvard Law School, I would not change a thing. My experiences at a historically black university provided me with the background and opportunities needed to develop leadership skills, prepared me academically for graduate and professional school and kept me in touch with my community.” J
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