James T. Minor is a US academic administrator and sociologist. He currently serves as the Chancellor o
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
He took office on March 1, 2022. Minor was appointed Assistant Vice Chancellor and Senior Strategist in the Office of the Chancellor at the

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

in September 2016. He was appointed by the

Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in th
Office of Postsecondary Education
at the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

from 2014 to 2016.

Academic background

Minor’s academic background is in Sociology with an emphasis in educational leadership and policy analysis. Minor was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

and graduated from Edwin Denby High School. He began his college career at

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, where he received his B.A. in Sociology, his M.A. in Sociology from

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, and earned his Ph.D in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis with a concentration in Higher Education at

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. After earning his Ph.D., Minor completed a post-doctoral appointment at th
Pullias Center for the Higher Education
at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

conducting research on academic governance and post-secondary performance.

Career

Minor served as an assistant professor and a tenured associate professor at

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

from 2004 to 2010. He suspended his academic post to serve as the Director of Higher Education Programs at the

Southern Education Foundation The Southern Education Foundation (SEF) is a not-for-profit foundation created in 1937 from four different funds — the Peabody Education Fund, the John F. Slater Fund, the Negro Rural School Fund, and the Virginia Randolph Fund. Their main go ...

from 2010 to 2014. In 2014, Minor was appointed by the

as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in th
Office of Postsecondary Education
in the

, initially under Secretary Arne Duncan, then under Secretary John King Jr until 2016. In 2016, Minor became Assistant Vice Chancellor and Senior Strategist of the 23-campus

(CSU) system - the largest and most diverse four-year public university system in the United States. Minor was appointed to provide leadership for the system’s signature initiativ
Graduation Initiative 2025
aimed at dramatically improving degree completion rates for underrepresented students, facilitating faculty innovation and implementing major system-wide policy reform. In 2018, the CSU reported that graduation rates reached all-time high and the lowest rate of equity gaps among minority and underrepresented students In 2021, Minor was chosen as the 10th Chancellor of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. As an innovative leader and firm believer in the transformative power of higher education, Minor has a vision to maintain a positive trajectory for the SIUE community, with a strong focus on student success.

Awards and honors

Partial list of awards and honors *2016 Carl A. Grant Scholar, Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison *2010 University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education Outstanding Alumni Award *2004 Jackson State University National Alumni Association Educator of the Year *2003 Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Committee on Ethnic Participation (CEP) Junior Scholar Award *1999 University of Wisconsin-Madison Marilyn Gaddis School of Education Scholarship Award *1998 American Sociological Association Research Fellowship *1998 University of Nebraska Multicultural Affairs Award for Teaching and Service

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minor, James T American sociologists American academic administrators Living people Year of birth missing (living people)