John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. is an American academic administrator who served as the 11th president of

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

from 2013 to 2017. Before returning to lead his alma mater in 2013, Wilson served in the

United States 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 ...

, at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Early life and education

John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. was born and raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. His father was a clergyman who graduated from

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richm ...

. His mother, a teacher, graduated from

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

. Wilson attended

and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979, majoring in business with a minor in religion and philosophy. While at Morehouse he was initiated into

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

fraternity in the fall of 1976 through the fraternity’s Pi chapter. He was then accepted in graduate programs at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and pursued a master's degree in theology (1981), a master's degree in education (1982), and a doctorate in education (1985). He concentrated his doctoral studies on education administration, planning, and social policy.

Career

Wilson was an administrator at the

(MIT) from 1984 until 2000, becoming its Director of Foundation Relations and Assistant Provost. During this time, he also served as a teaching fellow at Harvard in their African American Studies program, and in the Graduate School of Education. In 2001, Wilson was named the Executive Dean of the

's (GWU) Virginia campus. GWU appointed him an Associate Professor of Higher Education in 2006. In the presidential administration of U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, Wilson was named to head the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Initiative 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 primarily serving the African-American community. ...

''.'' Beginning in 2009, he served as a liaison between higher education institutions and the federal government. Wilson was appointed the 11th president of Morehouse College in 2012. Morehouse is the only college in the United States that provides men only liberal arts college education, with focus on

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. While at MIT, Wilson was the head of the Boston area Morehouse alumni association and received the college's ''

Benjamin Elijah Mays Benjamin Elijah Mays (August 1, 1894 – March 28, 1984) was an American Baptist minister and American rights leader who is credited with laying the intellectual foundations of the American Civil rights movement (1896–1954), civil rights movem ...

Leadership Award'' in 1998. Wilson has served on the governing boards of

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

, the

Andover Newton Theological School Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) was a graduate school and seminary in Newton, Massachusetts. Affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It was the product of a merger between Andover Theological ...

, and

The Samaritans Samaritans is a registered charitable organisation, charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, often through ...

. He has also served on the advisory board of the

Kresge Foundation The Kresge Foundation is a philanthropic private foundation headquartered in Troy, Michigan, United States. The foundation works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, enviro ...

and as a consultant to the

United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...

Personal life

Wilson is married to engineering professor

Carol Espy-Wilson Carol Yvonne Espy-Wilson (born 1957) is an electrical engineer and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland (UMD) at College Park. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Ins ...

, and has twin daughters and a son.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, John Silvanus Living people Morehouse College alumni Harvard Divinity School alumni Presidents of Morehouse College Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Year of birth missing (living people)