James Raymond Lawson

James Raymond Lawson was born on January 15, 1915 in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] His father, Daniel LaMont Lawson, was a Fisk alumnus, Fisk Jubilee Singer and an academic dean at Simmons College.[1][2]

Lawson graduated from Fisk University, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and he earned a bachelor's degree in Physics in 1935.[1] He attended the University of Michigan on a Rosenwald Fellowship, where he earned a PhD in Physics in 1939.[2]

Lawson was an assistant professor of physics at Southern University from 1939 to 1940, and an associate professor at Langston University from 1940 to 1942.[2] He became an associate professor and chair of the physics department at his alma mater, Fisk University, in 1942.[2] From 1955 to 1957, he was the chair of the physics department at Tennessee A & I University, later known as Tennessee State University.[2] He became a full professor and chair of the physics department at Fisk University in 1957, and the vice president from 1966 to 1967.[2]

Lawson was the president of Fisk University from 1967 to 1975.[3] He was the first alumnus to serve as president.[4] As many students joined the Black Power movement, Fisk's white donor base dwindled, leading to "salary cuts of twenty percent and operational budget cuts of twenty-five percent".[2] Fisk's endowment went from $10 million to $4 million.[4] Lawson resigned due to "severe decreases in faculty, staff and student enrollment".[2] However, his obituary in The Tennessean said he resigned "for health reasons".[4]

Lawson subsequently worked for the Energy Research and Development Administration and NASA in Washington, D.C.[2] He also served on the board of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and he was a member of the American Institute of Physics, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the American Physical Society.[2]

Lawson was awarded an honorary Ph.D. from Fisk University in May 1996, and was offered a place to live on campus during the last few months of his life.[4]

Lawson married Lillian Arcaeneaux; they had two sons and two daughters.[2] He resided in Nashville, where he died on December 21, 1996, at age 81.[5] His funeral was held at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.[5]