In Memoriam

In Memoriam: Stephen W. Jefferson, 1950-2018

Dr. Jefferson taught at the University of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2013 and directed the undergraduate sport management program from 1999 to 2011.

In Memoriam: Sarah Delores Cousin Banks, 1940-2018

After earning a master's degree, Sarah Banks taught mathematics at Rutgers University-Camden. Completing a doctorate at Rutgers in 1984, she then joined the staff at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she served in a number of roles including associate dean of the Graduate School.

In Memoriam: Virginia Caples, 1946-2018

Dr. Caples began her academic career at her alma mater, Alcorn State University. She then joined the faculty at Alabama A&M University, and served there in many capacities, including provost, for the next 40 years. On two occasions, Dr. Caples served as interim president of Alabama A&M.

In Memoriam: Lerone Bennett Jr., 1928-2018

Lerone Bennett, Jr. was a highly respected historian of the African American experience. He served as an editor at Ebony magazine for more than a half century and taught at Northwestern University.

In Memoriam: Grace Victoria Edmondson Harris, 1933-2018

Dr. Harris was the first African American women to serve as a chief academic officer at a four-year public university in Virginia. She served on the faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond for 48 years.

In Memoriam: Saul T. Wilson Jr., 1928-2018

Saul T. Wilson, Jr. was a member of the first pre-veterinary medicine class at what was then the Tuskegee Institute. He was a member of the second class of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee and later served on the faculty.

In Memoriam: Leon Ndugu Chancler, 1952-2018

Leon Chancler was an accomplished drummer who worked with some of the biggest names in the music business and taught for 23 years in the jazz and popular music programs at Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

In Memoriam: Cheryl Lynn Allen

Dr. Allen joined the faculty of Morehouse College as an instructor in 1988 and rose to the rank of full professor. On two occasions she was named interim dean of the Business and Economics Division at Morehouse College, the first woman to serve as a dean in the division.

In Memoriam: Julius Bernard Lester, 1939-2018

Julius Lester, author, civil rights activist, photographer, musician, and educator who taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for more than 30 years, has died at the age of 78.

In Memoriam: Robert Harris Jr., 1927-2018

Dr. Harris was originally denied admission to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Education because of his race. He later was the first African American student to enroll at the school.

In Memoriam: Ralph W. Turner, 1937-2017

Ralph W. Turner was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida A&M from 2008 to 2012. He served on the chemistry department faculty at the university for a half century.

In Memoriam: Martha Hemphill Veasey, 1938-2018

Martha Veasey was a long-time administrator at Canisius College in New York. After a 21-year career in nursing, she joined the staff at the college as a counselor. She later served as director of community relations and director of disability support services.

In Memoriam: Joseph Benjamin Johnson, 1934-2018

Dr. Johnson served as president of Grambling State University in Louisiana from 1977 to 1991. He was then president of Talladega College in Alabama until his retirement in 1998.

In Memoriam: LeRoy Frasier, 1937-2017

In 1955, LeRoy Frasier was one of the first three African American students to enroll as undergraduates at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In Memoriam: Joseph T. McMillan Jr., 1944-2017

Before becoming the fourth president of what is now Huston-Tillotson University in 1988, Dr. McMillan served for 18 years as director of the United Church of Christ's ministry in higher education. He served for 12 years as president of the historically Black college in Austin, Texas, before retiring in 2000.

In Memoriam: Getahn Ward, 1972-2017

A native of Liberia in western Africa, Ward came to the United States in 1991 and became a U.S. citizen in 2014. He began work as a reporter at The Tennessean in 1998. He also taught journalism classes at his alma mater, Tennessee State University.

In Memoriam: William Wesley Harmon, 1941-2017

From 2005 to 2016, Dr. Harmon served as president of Central College of Houston Community College, which today enrolls about 18,000 students.

In Memoriam: Calestous Juma, 1953-2017

Calestous Juma was a professor of the practice of international development at the Kennedy School of Harvard University. A native of Kenya, Dr. Juma earned a Ph.D. in science and technology studies at the University of Sussex in England.

In Memoriam: Laron J. Clark Jr., 1937-2017

During Laron Clark's tenure as director of development at Hampton University in Virginia, the university's endowment grew from $29 million to more than $260 million.

In Memoriam: William M. Pender Sr., 1922-2017

Dr. Pender was hired in 1965 as director of guidance and teacher training at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He was a professor of education and later served as vice chancellor for academic affairs.

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