Alcorn State University Hosting 154th Founder’s Convocation Sept. 23

Alcorn State University will host its 154th Founder’s Convocation on Sept. 23 at 10 a.m. in the Dr. Rudolph Waters Classroom Building – Brian Johnson Auditorium. Dr. Donzell Lee, president of Tougaloo College, will deliver the keynote address.

Founded in 1871 as the nation’s first land-grant historically Black college and university, Alcorn State has educated thousands of alumni who have made global impact across fields including education, business, government and the arts.

Tougaloo College’s Board of Trustees named him president on July 1, 2023, following a 46-year career at Alcorn State University.

At Alcorn State, Lee served in multiple leadership roles, including interim president in 2018. During that tenure, the university broke ground on two major building projects and received initial approval for its first doctoral degree – the Doctor of Nursing Practice.

Lee also served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs from 2015-2018, overseeing degree program expansion. He led the accreditation of the Social Work program into a department and directed the transition to digital operations as dean of graduate studies from 2006-2015.

His career began in 1974 as a music instructor in the Department of Fine Arts. He later was director of the Honors Curriculum Program, growing enrollment from 25 to 250 students, and served as president of three national honors organizations.

The university was named for Mississippi Gov. James L. Alcorn, and its first president was Hiram R. Revels, the first African American U.S. senator.

Alcorn originally operated as Oakland College starting in 1828 before the state purchased it for $40,000. It became coeducational in 1895 and built its first women’s dormitory in 1902.

The institution achieved university status in 1974.

Today, Alcorn serves nearly 3,000 students from over 55 counties in Mississippi, more than 30 states and at least 13 foreign countries. The university offers more than 40-degree programs including bachelor’s, master’s, specialist and doctoral degrees.