Michael Lomax

Michael Lucius Lomax (born October 2, 1947) is an American educator and former elected official who has served as president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund since 2004. From 1997 to 2004, he served as president of Dillard University, a historically black university HBCU. In addition, 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.

Early life and education

Michael Lomax was born October 2, 1947, in Los Angeles, California, to Lucius W. Lomax, Jr. (1910–73), a Los Angeles attorney, and Hallie Almena Davis Lomax (1915-2011), a journalist. His sister, Melanie E. Lomax, the Los Angeles civil rights lawyer, died in 2006.

Lomax attended Morehouse College at the age of sixteen years old, and graduated magna cum laude 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 in 1969, and a doctor of philosophy in American and Afro-American literature from Emory University in 1984.

Academic career

Lomax taught literature at Morehouse College and Spelman College, Emory University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia.

From 1997 to 2004, Lomax served as president and professor of English and African world studies at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. During his tenure at Dillard, student enrollment at the private, historically black university 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, and the first director of the City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs.

In 1978, Dr. Lomax ran for public office and was elected to the Fulton County Fulton County 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 some 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 400, expanding and renovating 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 and 1993, he was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Atlanta.

United Negro College Fund

Since 2004, Lomax has served as President and CEO of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships and educational support for African American students. Under his leadership, UNCF has raised over $5 billion, providing financial assistance and scholarships to more than 500,000 students and supporting 37 HBCUs.

In 2024, UNCF received a $100 million unrestricted grant from the Lilly Endowment to support UNCF $1 billion capital campaign. The gift is the largest donation in UNCF's history and expands the pooled endowment for its 37 member HBCU institutions.

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

Boards and Associations

He is a board member and/or former board members of several institutions, including Teach for America, Emory University, The Carter Center, and a member of Sigma Pi Phi fraternity. U.S. President George W. Bush appointed him to the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and United States Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert appointed Lomax to the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission.

Personal life

Lomax and his wife, Cheryl Ferguson Lomax, have two daughters, Michele and Rachel. In addition, Lomax is the father of Deignan Cleage Lomax, who graduated from Dillard University in 2000, and his oldest daughter from a previous marriage to playwright and author Pearl Cleage.

He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Lomax was also inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa in 2000 at Dillard, and was later awarded the organization's highest honor, the Laurel Crowned Circle.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Michael Lomax papers, 1772-2010