Veteran higher education leader, Dr. Wesley McClure, president of Lane College for two decades and a past national chair of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), died earlier this month after a short illness. He was 71.
McClure, a native of native of Jackson, Tenn., where Lane is located, earned his bachelor’s degree in math at Lane, his higher degrees at the University of Virginia, then took off like a rocket. In the course of his pursuits, he established himself as a talented administrator with tours of duty at several institutions before returning to his hometown and Lane.
He served administrative stints at Virginia State College, Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., St. Augustine’s College in North Carolina and Clark College in Atlanta.
McClure also served a term as chairman of NAFEO, the principal professional association of presidents of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
“He was someone who didn’t grab the limelight but who had a prescription for success that was a model for Lane,” says attorney Lezli Baskerville, president and chief executive officer of NAFEO, referring to McClure and Lane.
Baskerville, who said she considered McClure a mentor and friend, says he would provide “constructive criticism when I did something wrong or there was scuttlebutt about me. He would call and give me a confirming speech,” Baskerville says, the kind of talk that would reassure her of her value as a human being.
Others echo Baskerville’s sentiments of McClure’s loss leaving a big gap.
