MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Blackmon, Frazier, Dearing, Bryan

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE INAUGURAL CEREMONIES FOR DR. RONALD MASON, JR., PRESIDENT OF JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY.

WHEREAS, Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr., assumed the presidency of Jackson State University on February 1, 2000, bringing a wealth of experience in higher education, community development and legal issues; and

WHEREAS, at the time of his appointment by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, Dr. Mason was serving as Executive Director for the Tulane-Xavier National Center for the Urban Community in New Orleans, Louisiana; and

WHEREAS, as founder and Executive Director of the Tulane-Xavier Center, Dr. Mason coordinated the two universities' extensive involvement in public housing, economic development and public education; and

WHEREAS, in this unique role, Dr. Mason oversaw the recovery for the housing authority, including the involvement of Tulane and Xavier faculty, students and staff in developing model programs to stimulate resident self-sufficiency and to implement welfare reform and welfare-to-work programs through the Tulane-Xavier Campus Affiliates Program and the Tulane Institute for Resident Initiatives; and

WHEREAS, during his 18 years at Tulane, Dr. Mason served in several capacities, including Senior Vice President and General Counsel, and Vice President for Finance and Operations; and

WHEREAS, his accomplishments at Tulane included establishing the Tulane-Xavier-Loyola-Dillard Martin Luther King Week for Peace and bringing to Tulane the Amistad Research Center, one of the nation's largest collections of original documents and art on the experience of minorities in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Mason was the principal investigator on a grant awarded by the Ford Foundation to explore the issue of racism in higher education with presidents of highly selective southern universities, and spent six weeks in Kenya and Tanzania, East Africa, as Tulane's representative on the Louisiana Consortium for Higher Education; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Mason is involved in numerous public service activities, including membership on the following boards: the Southern Development Foundation, the University of Dayton and First American Community Development Corporation; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Mason is the recipient of the Mayors Medal of Honor from the City of New Orleans and the Martin Luther King Lifetime Achievement Award from Dillard-Loyola-Tulane and Xavier Universities; and

WHEREAS, as President of Jackson State University, Dr. Mason will serve on the Boards of the West Jackson Community Development Corporation; Capital Center, Inc.; Jackson Medical Mall Foundation; Mississippi Technology; and the Mississippi Telecommunications Conference and Training Center Commission; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Mason earned his BA and JD degrees from Columbia University, and is also a graduate of the Harvard Institute of Educational Management; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Mason is married to Belinda DeCuir Mason, and has one daughter, Nia, and two sons, Jared and Kenan:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize the inaugural ceremonies for Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr., President of Jackson State University, to be held on October 20, 2000, and wish him success during his tenure.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be presented to Dr. Ronald Mason and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.