JAMES RACE, JR.
Phillis Wheatley Graduating Class of 1946
University Professor and Administrator; Veteran, U. S. Army
Dr. James Race, Jr., a 1946 graduate of Phillis Wheatlry High School, has
been a well known and highly respected university professor and
administrator in the Houston Community for more than 50 years. In
these capacities, although now retired, he touched the lives of many as
a long standing employee of Texas Southern University (TSU). Many of
his former students have gone on to earn advanced graduate and
professional degrees across the United States. In his quest to succeed,
his life story is a shining example of how a person can define himself
regardless of unavoidable limitations that society may impose.
Dr. Race grew up in the Fifth Ward Community in what might be
thought of as in the shadows of downtown Houston. He attended the Houston public schools through
his high school graduation from Phillis Wheatley in 1946. Subsequently, he enrolled at Texas State
University for Negroes in Houston which later became Texas Southern University (TSU) as a result of
integration. Always regarded to be a superior student, he had no difficulty earning a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Biology/Chemistry at TSU; however, his subsequent college studies were interrupted when he
was drafted into the U. S. Army where he served in the U. S. Army Medical Corps during the Korean
Conflict.
While enrolled for his Bachelor's Degree, Dr. Race was a member of the first TSU Debate Team under
the direction of Dr. Thomas F. Freeman. As an alumnus of the Team, he was the inaugural speaker for
the Barbara Jordan Memorial Lecture Series: "Excellence in the Forensic Arts."
After an honorable military discharge, Dr. Race returned to TSU in order to pursue further study at the
graduate level which resulted in his earning of a Master of Science Degree in Biology/Chemistry. After
reaching this milestone, he pushed ahead to complete doctoral studies at the University of Iowa where
he earned a Ph.D. in Zoology. His dissertation research was focused on developmental biology with an
emphasis on neuroembryology. He conducted studies in comparative endocrinology where hormonal
influences on the overall development of the nervous system were documented. His research was
challenging enough that he decided to remain an extra year at the University of Iowa as a post-doctoral
fellow to continue further studies. Even after successfully completing this fellowship, he sought to do
more research when he was accepted to conduct additional studies in marine biology at the very
prestigious Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Post-doctoral acceptance at
the Woods Hole Laboratory is difficult at best and was virtually unheard of at this time in history for an
African-American.
When his appointment at Woods Hole ended, Dr. Race was invited to join the faculty in the Department
of Biology at Texas Southern University. In accepting this appointment, he effectively embarked upon a
career that spanned more than 40 years at the University. He became a very popular faculty member
who inspired and mentored both undergraduate and graduate students. For many years, he was the
principal investigator for a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to the Department that was used to
support his graduate students while they worked toward earning Master's Degrees in Biology. This
grant allowed them to study the development of organs in vitro under his guidance in a controlled
laboratory environment.
Between 1965 and 1971, Dr. Race went to Princeton University each year to serve as a reader for the
development of Advanced Placement Examinations in Biology. By this time, the total of all of his
academic endeavors brought notice to him as a "rising star" at TSU. Thus, it was not long before he was
asked to accept administrative responsibility at the University. Over his 40 years of service, he held the
following administrative positions: Chair of the Department of Biology, Dean of Students, Vice President
for Student Affairs, Vice President for Development, and Senior Vice President for Academic
Affairs/Provost.
Between 1971 and 1974, as Dr. Race began to climb the executive ladder at TSU, he was offered a
fellowship from the American Council on Education (ACE) as a college administrator, with the potential
to become a college/university president, to intern or study at the University of Wisconsin for
potentially achieving this goal. In accepting this prestigious opportunity, he received first hand exposure
to the detailed operation of a major university. In 1974, he returned to TSU with advanced training in
how to run a university and well prepared to embrace the challenge of overseeing any administrative or
executive office to which he was assigned or aspired.
The 1970s at TSU represented a critical time in its history during which an updated administrative
structure was developed as an outcome of the turbulence of the 1960s that had been brought on by the
civil rights movement. In 1979, Dr. Race became the first adminstrator/executive at TSU to carry the
title of "Vice President" when his position as "Dean of Students" was elevated/converted to "Vice
President for Student Services." Always a hard worker and dedicated professional, he became as
successful as an administrator as he was as a professor; and he continued to inspire his students even
though the majority of his time now became more devoted to management than to teaching.
Dr. Race is a long standing member of Mt. Horem Missionary Baptist Church in the Fifth Ward and
enjoyed 61 years of marriage to his late wife, Elsie Sledge Race. They were blessed with five children
and nine grandchildren. He is proud to have influenced the education and careers of numerous
students during his many years of service as an educator
This biography was developed in April of 2015 as a joint effort between James Race, Jr. and Etta Frances
Walker.
Honoring legendary #TXSU alumnus Dr. James Race, Jr., who helped give Texas Southern its name back in the early 1950s. Race (right) is pictured with another TSU living legend, Dr. Thomas Freeman.
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