Charles Alfonso Hines (September 4, 1935 – July 4, 2013) was an American Army Major General, university administrator, and sociology professor.

Biography

A native of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

where he was born on September 4, 1935, Hines enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

on February 19, 1954 after having completed high school. After completing his active duty commitment as a sergeant, Hines enrolled in

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

on the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

. Upon graduation with a B.S. degree in physical education in 1962, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army, where he continued to serve with distinction, eventually attaining the rank of major general. Hines earned an M.S. degree in police science in 1970 from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

and a Master of Military Art and Science degree in 1971 from the

Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. His master's thesis for the latter was entitled ''Analysis of factors associated with guard-prisoner hostility at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks''. Hines later received a Ph.D. in sociology in 1984 from the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, where his doctoral thesis was entitled ''Military Job Performance Evaluation Patterns in Intraracial and Interracial Dyads: Quantitative and Narrative Aspects''. When Hines took command of

Fort McClellan Fort McClellan, originally Camp McClellan, is a United States Army post located adjacent to the city of Anniston, Alabama. During World War II, it was one of the largest U.S. Army installations, training an estimated half-million troops. After t ...

in July 1989, he became the first black commander of a military installation in the South. In 1991, Governor

Guy Hunt Harold Guy Hunt (June 17, 1933 – January 30, 2009) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Alabama, 49th governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican Party (United States), Republican to serve ...

awarded Hines the Alabama Distinguished Service Medal for his contributions to the

Alabama National Guard The Alabama National Guard is the National Guard of the U.S State of Alabama, and consists of the Alabama Army National Guard and the Alabama Air National Guard. (The Alabama State Defense Force is the third military unit of the Alabama Mil ...

at Fort McClellan. When Hines retired in 1994, he returned to his hometown to serve as Director of Health and Security at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. Hines served as President of

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two lan ...

from 1994 until 2002, where he oversaw its role in the

Office for Civil Rights The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Education that is primarily focused on enforcing civil rights laws prohibiting schools from engaging in discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex ...

(OCR) settlement that resulted in the Texas Commitment funding for four new buildings, additional master's and doctoral degree programs and dollars for development initiatives, student scholarships and endowed chairs. Hines began his career with Lone Star College–CyFair in 2008 as an Adjunct Faculty Student Advisor in Student Services. In 2010 he received the “Adjunct Excellence Award” for the 2009–10 academic year.

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Charles Alfonso 1935 births 2013 deaths Military personnel from Washington, D.C. United States Army soldiers African-American United States Army personnel Howard University alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Michigan State University alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 21st-century African-American people African Americans in the Vietnam War 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics