Long before presiding over universities, Ronald Mason Jr. was mentoring scores of black Tulane Law School students— including MCCA President and CEO Joseph K. West—whom he met at pickup basketball games. Weekly play began


after Mason joined the uni- versity in 1982 as its general counsel, and he, then-Presi- dent Eamon Kelly, and other administrators secured keys to the basketball arena. Professors and students from the nearby law school started showing up, too. Whereas the president and other adminis- trators lost interest and quit playing, Mason continued. A 1L in 1983, West heard a


rumor that an African American GC hosted Sunday pickup games. His entering class had


them in prison. Although he


never set out to become a col- lege president, he credits then- Tulane University President Eamon Kelly with mentoring him in that direction after


hiring him as Tulane’s general counsel in 1982. Mason rose to senior vice president, overseeing all fi nancial and business operations until 2000 when he became president of Jackson State University in Mississippi, which, like the Southern University System, is histori- cally black. “Historically black institutions are where my skills


are best used, and I have always tried to take care of the least amongst us,” Mason says, referring to how such schools typically serve students of all ethnicities who are educationally and fi nancially disadvantaged. Mills of Bowdoin College is likewise committed


to improving higher education access to underserved families. One of his signature priorities has been increasing scholarships and grants. Four years ago, Bowdoin closed a fundraising campaign that reaped $293 million, with one-third of it earmarked for aid to low- and moderate-income students. And since fall


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only about 10 blacks, and Tulane had produced its fi rst African American law graduate only 15 years earlier. West recalls no African American law faculty until a woman was hired during his 3L year. West joined the pickup


games, and Mason encour- aged him and other black law students to seek him out on campus. “Ron personally gave me advice on study habits and course selection,” he says, adding that Mason held group study sessions at his home. Mason hosted pickup games


throughout his 18 years at Tulane and now counts hun- dreds of lawyers and judges among his former mentees. “Many of them—like Joe—have found success,” he says. “I was happy to help.”


2008, Bowdoin has replaced loans with grants in its fi nancial aid packages. Bowdoin’s endowment now covers about 50 percent of the college-wide fi nancial aid burden, Mills says, compared with 30 percent when his presidency began. He’s proud that such moves have improved the


socioeconomic and ethnic diversity of the student body. About 31 percent of the 1,750 students are minorities, for example, compared with only 14 percent in 2001. When Bowdoin hosts its annual luncheon honoring graduating seniors who are fi rst-generation college-goers—as Mills was—their testimonials resonate with him. “T is is why I’m intensely focused on bringing talented students to our college without regard to how much money they have,” says Mills, a 1972 alumnus whose modest upbringing never included air travel prior to enrolling at Bowdoin. Back in 2000, Bowdoin trustees invited Mills, also


a trustee at the time, to join their pool of presidential candidates, and he’s glad he did. He believes the restructuring of fi nancial aid programs would have been near-impossible if he hadn’t secured a consensus among Bowdoin administrators and others to do so.


VOICES FOR THE ENDANGERED At Rutgers-Camden, consensus building proved crucial in literally keeping the school intact, says Pritchett, its chancellor since 2009.


MAY/JUNE 2013 DIVERSITY & THE BAR® 25


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