Michael Lucius Lomax (born October 2, 1947) is an American educator and former elected official who has served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the United Negro College Fund since 2004. From 1997 to 2004, he served as president of Dillard University, a historically Black university (

HBCU 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 ...

). Lomax was elected as a member and then chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, the first African American elected official in history to lead a major county government in the

State of Georgia Georgia is a state in the Southeastern United States. It borders Tennessee and North Carolina to the north, South Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Florida to the south, and Alabama to the west. Of the 50 U.S. states, Georgia i ...

Early life and education

Michael Lomax was born October 2, 1947, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, to Lucius W. Lomax, Jr. (1910-1973), an attorney, and Hallie Almena Davis Lomax (1915-2011), a journalist. Biography of Dr. Michael L. Lomax His sister, Melanie E. Lomax, the Los Angeles civil rights lawyer, died in 2006. Lomax attended

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

at the age of sixteen years old, graduating

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in English and minors in Spanish and history. He and three classmates were the first students inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at Morehouse. He went on to earn a master's degree in English literature at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1972, and a doctor of philosophy in American and African American studies from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in 1984, where his doctoral dissertation topic was Countee Cullen, a

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...

poet who was briefly married to the daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois.

Academic career

In 1969, Lomax joined

as an English literature instructor. He served on the faculties of Morehouse College and

Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...

for 20 years. From 1997 to 2004, Lomax served as president and professor of English and African world studies at Dillard University in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. During his tenure at Dillard, student enrollment at the private HBCU increased by 49 percent, private funding by 300 percent and alumni giving more than 2,000 percent. In addition, President Lomax led an aggressive $60 million campus renovation program to improve the living and learning environment for Dillard students.

Public Service

Lomax began his career as an Atlanta public servant in the 1970s. He held several positions, including director of research and special assistant to Atlanta Mayor

Maynard Jackson Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. (March 23, 1938 – June 23, 2003) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 52nd mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 1974 to 1982, and again as the city's 54th mayor from 1990 to 1994. A member of the ...

, the city's first African American mayor, and established Atlanta's Office of Cultural Affairs. In 1978, Dr. Lomax ran for public office and was elected to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. Two years later, he was elected chairman of the board, becoming the first African American to lead a major county government in Georgia. He served as board chairman for 12 years, overseeing a $500 million annual operating budget and 5,000 county employees. As a commissioner, he helped bring the 1988 Democratic National Convention and the 1996 Olympic Games to Atlanta. He also spearheaded a number of major construction projects, including building Georgia's Interstate 400, expanding and renovating historic Grady Hospital and constructing the new Fulton County government center. He also founded the Fulton County Arts Council, the National Black Arts Festival, and served as commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs in Atlanta. In

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, he was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Atlanta.

United Negro College Fund

Since 2004, Lomax has served as president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the largest private provider of scholarships and other educational support to underrepresented students.Turning 80, United Negro College Fund Stages A Revival. With an ambitious capital campaign, CEO Michael Lomax has led his nonprofit back onto the Forbes 2023 list of America’s Top 100 Charities, ranked by private donations. Forbes. Dec 12, 2023. Updated Jun 5, 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2023/12/12/turning-80-united-negro-college-fund-stages-a-revival/ He launched UNCF'
Institute for Capacity Building
which supports member HBCUs to become stronger, more effective and self-sustaining. Under his leadership, UNCF has raised over $5 billion, helping more than 200,000 students earn college degrees and launch careers. In 2023, UNCF was named one of America’s Top 100 Charities. Annually, UNCF's work enables 50,000 students to go to college with UNCF scholarships and attend its 37-member HBCUs. Lomax oversees the organization's 400-plus scholarship programs, which award more than 10,000 scholarships a year; the six-year undergraduate graduation rate for UNCF scholarship recipients is greater than the U.S. college students total. In addition, Lomax has negotiated public and private partnerships to advance HBCUs goals. In 2023, UNCF received a $190 million gift from Fidelity Investments, and in 2024, UNCF received a $100 million unrestricted grant from the

Lilly Endowment Lilly Endowment Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations and among the largest endowments in the United States. It was founded in 1937 by Josiah K. (J. K.) Lilly Sr. and his s ...

to support the organization's $1 billion capital campaign. The gift is the largest donation in UNCF's history and expands the pooled endowment for its 37 member

institutions. Lomax was the keynote speaker for the 154th Commencement Convocation at Benedict College, a UNCF member institution.

Boards and Associations

He serves on the boards of Handshake, the KIPP Foundation, Cengage Group and

Teach for America Teach For America (TFA) is an American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to "enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational excell ...

. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Senate, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and

Sigma Pi Phi Sigma Pi Phi (), also known as The Boulé, is an African American professional fraternity. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1904, it is the oldest Greek lettered fraternity for African Americans. The fraternity does not have collegiate ...

fraternities, a trustee of the Studio Museum in Harlem and a founding member of the Smithsonian Institution's

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), colloquially known as the Blacksonian, is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 an ...

, which he was appointed to by U.S. Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert. U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

appointed Lomax to the President's Board of Advisors on

Historically Black Colleges and Universities 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 ...

. He is a past board member of America's Promise Alliance, The Carter Center and

Awards

In 2018, Dr. Lomax received the Dr. Eugene D. Stevenson, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award from the Higher Education Leadership Foundation (H.E.L.F.), the highest honor bestowed by the foundation. Lomax received Emory University's most prestigious alumni honor, the Emory Medal, in 2004. He also received the Omicron Delta Kappa Laurel Crowned Circle Award, the organization's highest honor, Morehouse's Bennie Achievement Award and 17 honorary degrees.

Personal life

Lomax has three daughters, Michele, Rachel and Deignan and 5 grandchildren. He is a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

and

fraternities. Lomax was also inducted into

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...

in 2000 at Dillard.

Notes

External links

*
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Michael Lomax papers, 1772-2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lomax, Michael 1947 births American chief executives 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics Living people Dillard University faculty Businesspeople from Los Angeles 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics Morehouse College alumni 20th-century Georgia (U.S. state) politicians Fulton County commissioners