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The American Council on Education (ACE) announced today that Florida A&M University’s David H. Jackson, Jr., Ph.D., and Brian C. Lucas, D.M., have been named ACE Fellows for the 2017-18 academic year.
Jackson serves as FAMU’s associate provost for Graduate Education and dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research. Lucas is the coordinator of public affairs for FAMU’s Office of Communications and serves as the managing editor of the University’s newsletter.
Established in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing faculty and staff for senior positions in college and university administration through its distinctive and intensive nominator-driven, cohort-based mentorship model. Forty-six fellows, nominated by the senior administration of their institutions, were selected this year following a rigorous application process.
Interim President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., nominated Jackson and Lucas for the fellowship program.
“Dr. Jackson and Dr. Lucas are both exemplary representatives of our motto ‘Excellence With Caring,’” said Robinson. “They have not only served as leaders on our campus but have also been great contributors to our community. The inclusion of both of our nominees in this very selective process attests to the quality of these gentlemen. I am enthusiastic about their experience as ACE Fellows and how their participation will help to enhance the university.”
Both Jackson and Lucas are alumni of FAMU as well as the University’s world-renowned Marching “100” band.
“I am truly honored to have been selected to serve as a 2017-2018 ACE Fellow through such a competitive process,” said Jackson about his selection. “I would like to publicly thank Interim President Larry Robinson and Interim Provost Rodner Wright for supporting me in this endeavor and investing in my future. I look forward to learning as much as I can about higher education through this process to help enhance the mission and vision of my alma mater, Florida A&M University.”
Jackson and Lucas will join the nearly 1,900 higher education leaders that have participated in the ACE Fellows Program over the past five decades, with more than 80 percent of fellows having gone on to serve as senior leaders of colleges and universities.
“With such an amazing opportunity ahead of me, I look forward to learning as much as possible from some of America’s most respected higher education executives,” Lucas said. “The knowledge and experiences I will gain over the course of the fellowship year will better position me to help contribute more to FAMU’s rich history of excellence.”
The 2017-18 class will kick off its work this fall as ACE prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2018.
“Fulfilling higher education’s 21st-century mission depends upon a visionary, bold and diverse global community of institutional leaders, and the ACE Fellows Program plays a key role in cultivating these leaders,” said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad. “The diverse and talented 2017-18 Fellows class demonstrates why the program has made such a vital contribution for more than a half-century to expanding the leadership pipeline for our colleges and universities.”
The ACE Fellowship program combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, visits to campuses and other higher education-related organizations, and placement at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year. During the placement, Fellows observe and work with the president and other senior officers at their host institution, attend decision-making meetings and focus on issues of interest.
Fellows also conduct projects of pressing concern for their home institution and seek to implement their findings upon completion of the fellowship placement.
At the conclusion of the fellowship year, Fellows return to their home institution with new knowledge and skills that contribute to capacity-building efforts, along with a network of peers across the country and abroad.
About David H. Jackson, Ph.D.

Prior to his current position, Jackson served as the chair of the Department of History, Political Science, Public Administration, Geography and African American Studies at FAMU for 10 years. Recognized as one of FAMU’s most published professors, Jackson has published more than three-dozen scholarly articles, book chapters, short essays, and book reviews. He has presented more than 100 scholarly papers and riveting speeches at professional conferences, universities, public schools, prisons, courts, churches, and other venues throughout the United States. He is the author or editor of five scholarly books including “A Chief Lieutenant of the Tuskegee Machine: Charles Banks of Mississippi,” published by the University Press of Florida in 2002; “Retrieving the American Past” published in 2003 by Pearson Publishing; and “Go Sound the Trumpet! Selections in Florida’s African American History” published by the University of Tampa Press (2005). His latest book titled, “Booker T. Washington and the Struggle Against White Supremacy: The Southern Educational Tours, 1908-1912” was published in 2008 by Palgrave Macmillan and he was featured on C-Span Booknotes to discuss this work in March of 2014.
Jackson was the recipient of FAMU’s “Teacher of the Year” Award in 2000 and 2010 and the “Advanced Teacher of the Year” Award in 2006. He won the “FAMU Research Excellence Award” in 2010 and 2011.
A member of several fraternal, professional and civic organizations, including Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Jackson received a bachelor’s degree in history education magna cum laude and a master’s of applied social sciences degree in public administration from FAMU. He received a doctorate in history from the University of Memphis in Tennessee. He is married to Sheila Merritt Jackson, Ph.D., and they have two wonderful children, David H. Jackson, III and Daja Halima Jackson.
About Brian C. Lucas, D.M.

Lucas serves as an executive speechwriter for the president and senior leadership of FAMU. He is also managing editor of the University’s online newsletter “FAMU Forward.” Since 2005, he has performed administrative duties within the Office of the President and Office of Communications at FAMU to include the sustained coordination of key presidential community engagement initiatives.
A graduate of the Defense Information School (DINFOS) Public Affairs Officer Course at Fort Meade, Maryland, Lucas has served as a Department of Defense Civilian editor for U.S. Army Command publications in Wurzburg, Germany and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He has also worked as a reporter at daily newspapers in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and Fayetteville, North Carolina.
During 12 years of service as a United States Army Reserve Officer, he earned the rank of captain and served as a logistics officer. In 2004 he deployed to Baghdad, Iraq with the 204th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment as a public affairs and media relations officer in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A life member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Lucas earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from FAMU, an executive master of business administration from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, and a doctorate in management from Colorado Technical University in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
He is married to LTC (Ret.) Samantha Lucas and they are the proud parents of three children, Christopher, Jonathan and Sophia.

About ACE
Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation’s higher education institutions, representing nearly 1,800 college and university presidents and related associations. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy.