Lisle Carleton Carter Jr. (November 18, 1925 – September 10, 2009) was an American administrator who worked for civic organizations, educational institutions, and the federal government. He was also the first modern President of the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C., United States. The only public university in the city, it traces its origins to 1851 and opened in its current form in 1 ...

(UDC) following the merger of three DC universities.

Early life and education

Carter was born in New York City and spent most of his childhood in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. His father, Lisle Carter Sr., was a prominent

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

dentist, and his mother,

Eunice Carter Eunice Roberta Hunton Carter (July 16, 1897 – January 25, 1970) was an American lawyer. She was one of New York's first female African-American lawyers and one of the first African-American prosecutors in the United States. She was active in ...

, was the first black woman assistant district attorney in the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Carter graduated from high school at age 15, and from there spent two years at

Cazenovia College Cazenovia College was a private college in Cazenovia, New York. Founded as the Genesee Seminary in 1824 and sponsored by the Methodist Church in 1894, the college adopted the name of "Cazenovia Seminary". It was reorganized in 1942 after church s ...

. He later graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in 1945, then served in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

for two years before receiving a law degree from St. John's University School of Law in New York in 1950.

Legal, government and academic career

Carter was Executive Director of the Washington Urban League in the mid-1950s, and later worked for the

National Urban League The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...

in New York. He entered government as a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the

U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...

under the

Kennedy Administration John F. Kennedy's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 35th president of the United States began with Inauguration of John F. Kennedy, his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his ...

. He later became an Assistant Director of the

Office of Economic Opportunity The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States president Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 a ...

, and then became Assistant Secretary of HEW under the Johnson Administration, becoming one of the highest-ranking African Americans in that department before leaving in 1968. He later became a Vice President at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, and spent three years as Chancellor of the

Atlanta University Center The Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC Consortium) is a collaboration between four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in southwest Atlanta, Georgia: Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and the Mo ...

, a consortium of

historically black colleges Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

in downtown

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, before becoming President of UDC in 1977. After leaving UDC, Carter returned to practice law in Washington. He retired in the early 1990s as general counsel of the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

. Carter was a past board chairman of the

Children's Defense Fund The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on child advocacy and research. It was founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman. History The CDF was founded in 1973, ci ...

, a nonprofit child advocacy organization, and served on the board of the

Kettering Foundation The Kettering Foundation is a US-based non-partisan research foundation founded in 1927 by Charles F. Kettering that works to inspire and connect individuals and organizations to advance thriving and inclusive democracies around the globe. Th ...

, a science, education and international and urban affairs research foundation. He was a trustee for

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, Dartmouth College, the

Pension Rights Center The Pension Rights Center is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization established in 1976. Its stated mission is "to protect and promote the retirement security of American workers, retirees and their families." Background Karen Ferguson bec ...

and the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home. Its stated miss ...

.PRC mourns the death of a longtime board member
Pension Rights Center. September 25, 2009. Accessed 2017-04-16. .

Personal

Carter's first wife, Emily Elizabeth Ellis, died in 1989. In 1991, he married art historian and author

Jane Livingston Jane Shelton Livingston (born 12 February 1944) is an American art curator. She is the author and co-author of numerous books and catalogs. Life and work Livingston was born in Upland, California. From 1967 to 1975, she was curator of 20th-centur ...

. Carter had five children with his first wife, one of whom is author and

Yale Law Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United States. Its yield ...

professor Stephen L. Carter.

References

Selected publications

External links

*
Portrait of Lisle C. Carter Jr.
Getty Images. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Lisle Jr. 1925 births 2009 deaths Dartmouth College alumni St. John's University School of Law alumni Presidents of the University of the District of Columbia Kennedy administration personnel Lawyers from New York City People from Harlem 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Cornell University faculty 20th-century African-American lawyers