Dr. Leon C. Wilson, formerly the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, has been named interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Alabama State University. Wilson has served as dean of ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences since 2011.
Alabama State University was founded in 1867, in Marion, Ala., as a school for African-Americans. The school started as the Lincoln Normal School with $500 raised by nine freed slaves now known as the Marion Nine, making ASU one of the nation’s oldest institutions of higher education founded for black Americans.
“Dr. Wilson is a very seasoned academic administrator and is highly prepared to help to lead the University during this time,” said Dr. William H. Harris interim President of ASU. “We look forward to his tenure in this position.”
Wilson said his goal will be to help to continue move the University forward in terms of academics.
“The challenge of providing and sustaining quality education at all levels is a national one, and ASU has the will and capacity to be a significant contributor,” said Wilson. “This will continue as our primary mission, and it is my task to keep us focused.”
In making the announcement, Harris also praised the work of interim associate provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, Dr. Sharron Herron-Williams, who “has helped to provide administrative leadership and support to the mission of the provost’s office for several months.”
About Dr. Wilson
Dr. Leon C. Wilson received his M.A. (1986) and Ph.D. (1989) in sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, majoring in social psychology, with a minor in social organization and significant advanced training in statistics. He also holds an M.A. in religion and counseling from Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Mich., and a Bachelor of Theology from Caribbean Union College (now University of the Southern Caribbean), Trinidad.
Before moving to East Carolina University as professor and chair of the Department of Sociology, Wilson spent almost twenty years at Wayne State University in the ranks of assistant professor to professor, and as Department Chair for seven years.
Wilson has taught courses in advanced statistical application, social psychology, family and applied sociology. He has either chaired or participated in more than 70 Ph.D. dissertations and master’s thesis projects, and says he is very proud of his mentoring history. His research applies statistical models to understand the relationship of structural, interactional and socioeconomic factors to social psychological, health and mental health outcomes in families, especially adolescents. His publications, which reflect these interests, appear in national and international journals.
Wilson has conducted some of the largest survey research projects on families and adolescents in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. The most recent are Adolescent Health and Protective Factors in Guyana (2012), Media Habits in Guyana (2007-08) and Youth Trends in Trinidad and Tobago (2009). Wilson regularly contributes to and presents at national and international conferences and is the recipient of several research, teaching, mentoring and civic awards.