George C. Wright, the seventh president of historically Black Prairie View A&M University in Texas, announced that he will step down as soon as an interim replacement is named. Dr. Wright, who became president of the university in 2003, will remain at the university as a professor of history.
In a statement to the university community, Dr. Wright said, “I have served this university and the Texas A&M System for 14 years, and I am proud of the progress that we have made in that time. But for all of us, the time comes to lay down the responsibilities that go with a job like this one and focus on other things.”
Prior to joining the Prairie View A&M University, Dr. Wright was executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Texas at Arlington. Previously, Professor Wright was vice provost for university programs and director of the Afro-American studies program at Duke University. Earlier, he served on the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin for 13 years, where he held the Mastin Gentry White Professorship of Southern History.
Dr. Wright is the author of three books including Racial Violence in Kentucky, 1865-1940: Lynchings, Mob Rule, and “Legal Lynchings” (Louisiana State University Press, 1990).
A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Dr. Wright received bachelor and master’s degrees in history from the University of Kentucky. He earned a Ph.D. in history from Duke University.
