Historically Black Jackson State University Names Interim President

Last month Robert Mason Jr. stepped down as president of historically black Jackson State University in Mississippi to assume the position of chancellor of the Southern University system in Louisiana. The board of trustees of Jackson State University has named Leslie Burl McLemore as interim president while a nationwide search is performed to find a new president.

Dr. McLemore retired in 2009 after more than 40 years on the Jackson State faculty. He was a professor of political science and director of the university’s Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy.

Professor McLemore is a graduate of Rust College. He holds a master’s degree in political science from Atlanta University and a Ph.D. in government from the University of Massachusetts.