Benjamin F Payton

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Payton is the son of Mrs. Sarah M. Payton and the late Reverend Leroy R. Payton. Payton received the B.A. degree with honors from South Carolina State University in 1955; the B.D. degree from Harvard University in 1958; the M.A. degree from Columbia University in 1960; and the Ph.D. degree from Yale University in 1963. Prior to joining Tuskegee, Dr. Payton was program officer, Higher Education and Research, The Ford Foundation, New York City (1972-81); president of Benedict College, Columbia, S.C. (1967-72); executive director, Commission on Religion and Race and the Department of Social Justice of the National Council of Churches in the U.S.A. (1966-67); director, Office of Church and Race, Protestant Council of the City of New York (1965-66); and assistant professor, Howard University and director of the Howard University Community Service Project, Washington, D.C. (1963-65). Payton serves or has served as director on numerous boards including AmSouth Bancorporation, AmSouth Bank, Ruby Tuesday, Inc., Liberty Corp., Praxair Corp., the ITT Corp., SONAT, Inc. and Morrison Management Specialists, Inc.; Additionally, he has served on the boards of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, the American Society for Engineering Education Study National Advisory Council, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival Royal Council and the Board of Governors of the U.S. Air Force Civil Air Patrol. Payton has also served as a member of the Visiting Committee for the Board of Overseers at Harvard University and MIT, the Board of Visitors at Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, and as a director of the Association of Governing Boards. Payton married the former Thelma Plane of Evanston, Illinois, a B.S. degree graduate of Tennessee State University and MSW degree graduate of the Columbia University School of Social Work. They have two children: Mark Steven, a B.A. degree graduate of Yale University, who also has the M.B.A. degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; and Deborah Elizabeth, a B.A. degree graduate of Spelman College. They are also the proud grandparents of Danielle Marie, Maya Elizabeth, William Isaac and Nicholas Warren Payton.