Ronald Mason, Jr. joined the faculty of the David A. Clark School of Law when he became President of University of the District of Colombia. Upon his retirement as president in August 2023 he assumed a teaching position at the School. During his 40 years as a higher education executive, he served as president of the Southern University System and Jackson State University, and as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Tulane University. Over the course of seventeen years at Tulane, Mason also served four years as the federal Executive Monitor of the New Orleans Public Housing Authority, and founded the Tulane/Xavier National Center for the Urban Community. Prior to higher education, Mason worked as Executive Counsel to the President at the Southern Cooperative Development Fund.
While at the University of the District of Columbia, Mason established the Developing America’s Workforce Nucleus (DAWN) initiative, to rethink public education and increase the production of diverse, business ready talent from poor, black and brown communities. He created an initiative housed at Southern University of New Orleans titled the “Five-Fifths Agenda for America.” It is a demonstration project with the goals of bringing truth to the conversation about the relationship between America and black men, increasing the number of college degrees among black men, and increasing the number of black male teachers. While at Jackson State, Mason established the Mississippi Learning Institute, a P-16 partnership with Jackson Public Schools and the State of Mississippi. Mason established the Martin Luther King week for Peace at Dillard, Xavier and Tulane Universities while at Tulane.
He received his B.A. and J.D. from Columbia University.
Disciplines: General and Higher Education Law
Professional service and affiliations: awards, educational achievements, and relevant links. Mason served under three Presidents on the White House Board of Advisors for HBCUs, and on the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) Board for fifteen years. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Educator of the Year Awards from TMCF and NAFEO, the Alumnus of the Year Award from Columbia College of Columbia University, the Medal of Honor from the City of New Orleans, and The Martin Luther King Lifetime Achievement Award from Tulane, Xavier and Dillard Universities.