A pastor and extra in a Spike Lee film: Meet Georgia’s newest HBCU president
Paine College’s board of trustees this week named the president of a nearby college as its new leader.
The Rev. Lester A. McCorn, currently the president of Clinton College in Rock Hill, South Carolina, will become Paine’s president in January. Paine’s prior president, Cheryl Evans Jones, retired earlier this year.
Both schools are historically Black colleges. Paine, located in Augusta, is a few miles from the Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Master’s tournament.
Paine leaders said McCorn’s experience at Clinton College made him the ideal choice to lead their school. Paine officials said graduation rates and enrollment increased at Clinton College during McCorn’s seven-year tenure. The college added five new bachelor’s degree programs during McCorn’s presidency.
“Dr. McCorn is a proven leader who has demonstrated a clear and concise vision for institutional change, while identifying and executing a comprehensive plan designed to achieve successful student outcomes,” said Michael Thurmond, Paine’s board chairman who is also chief executive officer of DeKalb County government.
Here are five things to know about McCorn, according to biographical information and news reports:
- He is an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church who has pastored churches in Connecticut, Georgia and Maryland.
- McCorn is a Morehouse College graduate. McCord was an intern to former U.S. Rep. John Lewis during his time at Morehouse.
- McCorn was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. step team in the landmark 1988 Spike Lee film “School Daze.”
- In 2021, McCorn announced Clinton College would waive its tuition costs for all full-time students to help with any financial burden students may be facing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, The State newspaper in South Carolina reported.
- He’s served as a coach/mentor for the HBCU Executive Leadership Institute at Clark Atlanta University.
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
