The HBCU Campaign Fund (HCF) Founder, President & CEO Demetrius Johnson Jr., has announced that former University of the District of Columbia President Ronald Mason Jr. and Medgar Evers College President Patricia Ramsey will join the honoree list of the seventh class of The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2024. Mason and Ramsey will join Fred Jones Jr. and former Johnson C. Smith University President Clarence D. Armbrister to be honored and inducted into the prestigious national recognition.

The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders Award & Class is a national recognition created by the HBCU Campaign Fund that previously identified ten chancellors and presidents currently serving an HBCU or MSI who exemplify a prominent and influential role in leadership and model the characteristics of the following responsibilities in the progression of effectively moving an institution forward. This year’s recognition will include individuals in influential roles other than the chancellor and president of an institution.

“It is a privilege to recognize Ronald and Patricia in such a prestigious way. The transformative leadership of both Ronald and Patricia has inspired me, and I thank them for an exceptional job well done in their careers in higher education,” said HCF Founder, President & CEO Demetrius Johnson, Jr. “We appreciate their tireless efforts and commitment to serving and making a difference in the lives of students. Both are true leaders who have proven the responsibility of strong leadership and have shown impact within the institutions and communities they serve, which is a tremendous milestone. They have truly proven as dominant leaders in the space.”

Ronald Mason, Jr., J.D., began his tenure as the ninth president of the University of the District in 2015. He is UDC’s longest-serving president, serving in the role for seven years. His reputation for strong leadership and responsible governance is bolstered by more than 30 years of experience in the higher education, community development, and legal fields.

Prior to being appointed president of UDC, Mason was the seventh president of the Southern University and A&M College system, where he served a five-year term as the chief executive officer of the nation’s only historically black college university system and provided oversight for the System’s five campuses. Before joining the Southern University System, he was president of Jackson State University, where he spent ten years in the role. Mason also developed a successful record of progressive leadership at Tulane University, including senior vice president, general counsel and vice president for finance and operations. He also served as the founder and executive director of the National Center for the Urban Community at Tulane and Xavier Universities.

Mason is a native of New Orleans and received his B.A. and J.D. from Columbia University in New York City. He attended the Harvard Institute of Educational Management and is the recipient of the Mayor’s Medal of Honor from the City of New Orleans, the Martin Luther King Lifetime Achievement Award from Dillard, Loyola, Tulane, and Xavier Universities, and was one of the five recipients of Columbia University’s 2008 John Jay Award for distinguished alumni.

Under his leadership, UDC ranked #17 in the 2022-2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), an increase from the #30 position. UDC also ranked #5 for Clinical Law Training for the David A. Clarke School of Law’s Clinical Program in the 2023 U.S. News & World Report Graduate School Rankings. The institution secured the most significant private gift in its history – $2.3m for need-based scholarships.

Mason announced that he would step down from the role when his contract concluded on July 31, 2023. According to the University, he will remain a faculty member at the David A. Clarke School of Law.

Recently named to the Brooklyn Power 100 list for the third year in a row, Dr. Patricia Ramsey was appointed by the CUNY Board of Trustees to serve as the sixth president of Medgar Evers College in 2021. She is the first woman president and the first scientist to be appointed president of the College.

Distinguished as a “National Role Model” by Minority Access, Inc., Dr. Ramsey is a leader and a scholar with a deep commitment to excellence and a passion for making a difference in the lives of students and their families. Through her visionary approach to education and commitment to expanding economic, social justice, and health equity, Dr. Ramsey was instrumental in launching MEC’s cannabis education program, the first for the City University of New York. Students may choose from 13 newly developed courses to earn a cannabis degree minor in testing, cultivation, business, or health, which will prepare them for opportunities in this burgeoning industry.

Being named to City and State’s Brooklyn Power 100 list in 2021, 2022, and 2023, Dr. Ramsey came to Medgar Evers College from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), where she served as senior executive fellow. Before TMCF, she was provost and vice president for academic affairs at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. For nearly 12 years, she served in various capacities at Bowie State University, the oldest HBCU in Maryland.

A biologist by training, Dr. Ramsey has a research interest in the biological activity of plants used in folklore, has collected 110 species of agave in the Sonoran Desert, and has traveled a 450-mile span of highway collecting Sapium sebiferum (popcorn tree) leaves in the southeastern United States. Dr. Ramsey earned her Master of Science in Botany from Howard University, a Master of Arts in Biology from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Biology from Georgetown University. Dr. Ramsey received her undergraduate degree from Norfolk State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology Education. She completed the executive leadership programs in AASCU’s Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI), Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management (IEM), and the Civic Leadership Institute.

The complete list of honorees of the Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2024 and Seventh Class will be released in early January 2024.

About the HBCU Campaign Fund
The HBCU Campaign Fund (HCF) was founded in 2012 and is a non-profit educational organization that remains a strong advocate for students and higher education. The mission of HCF is to support the significance and raise funds for scholarships, programs, and for private and public HBCUs and MSIs. For more information, visit www.hbcucampaignfund.org.

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