President Obama to appoint JSU President Ronald Mason Jr. to HBCU board of advisor

(JACKSON, Miss.) – President Barack Obama announced his intent on February 26 to appoint Jackson State University President Ronald Mason Jr. to the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Mason will be one of 11 members to serve on the board.
The Board of Advisors, created in 1981 by Executive Order, is tasked with advising the President and the Secretary of Education on methods, programs, and strategies to strengthen HBCUs. President Obama signed a new Executive Order on February 26 to re-establish the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the President’s Board of Advisors. According to the White House, the action signals the Administration’s commitment to assure increased access to federally-sponsored programs and opportunities for the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  It will also contribute to the Administration’s efforts to increase the number and percentage of college-trained Americans by the year 2020.
President Obama said, “I am pleased to announce the appointments of these talented, diverse and accomplished individuals to the Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, all of whom have shown a deep commitment to the mission of these institutions, which are as relevant and necessary to our society today as they were when first established.” 
Mason has served as President of Jackson State University since 2000.  He was previously the Founder and Executive Director for Tulane and Xavier Universities’ National Center for the Urban Community. During his 18-year tenure at Tulane, Mason also held appointments as Senior Vice President and General Counsel and as Vice President for Finance and Operations.  He began his career as a lawyer with the Southern Cooperative Development Fund, Inc. Mason has served on the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, and the American Council on Education Board of Directors.  He received his B.A. and J.D. from Columbia University.

Mason will serve on President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities along with William R. Harvey of Hampton University, Lawrence S. Bacow of Tufts University, Evelynn M. Hammonds of Harvard University, Beverly Wade Hogan of Tougaloo College, Edward Lewis of Essence magazine, Valerie Mosley of Wellington Management Company, LLP, Willie Pearson Jr. of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Beverly Daniel Tatum of Spelman College, Kenneth Tolson of the Emerging Technology Consortium and David Wilson, who was recently named as the next President of Morgan State University.