PRESIDENT DAVID L. BECKLEY, Ph.D.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
David L. Beckley, the longest tenured senior college President in Mississippi, was appointed president of Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi on January 16, 1993, and assumed the position on July 1, 1993.
Before assuming the position as 11th president of Rust College, he served as president of Wiley College in Marshall, TX (1987-1993). Since returning to Mississippi, he has been elected Chair of the Mississippi Association of Independent Colleges, President of the Mississippi Association of Colleges, member of NCAA Division III Presidents Council, President of the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church (NASCUMC), Chair of the Member Presidents of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) 2002-2002, Board of Directors of the Methodist Health Systems, Inc., Memphis, Tennessee, and the University Senate of the United Methodist Church where he chaired the Black College Council, SERVE Board, Yocona Area Council Boy Scouts of America, Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare Foundation (1999-2000), Black Methodist for Church Renewal, United Methodist Senior Services of Mississippi, Inc., the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the CREATE Board, and the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.
He is a member of Asbury United Methodist Church, Phi Delta Kappa Educational Fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi Professional Men’s Fraternity, Omega Psi Phi National Fraternity, Inc., and a 33˚ Mason.
A 1967 graduate of Rust College, Dr. Beckley became the third alumnus to serve his alma mater as president. In addition to the Rust College bachelor’s degree, Beckley holds both the M.Ed. and Ph.D. degrees in Higher Education Administration from the University of Mississippi.
Since accepting the presidency of Rust College, the College’s endowment fund has grown from $13 million to $23 million, reaffirmation of regional accreditation with Specialty Accreditation received from the Department of Social Work by the Council on Social Work Education.
The College celebrated the thirty-seventh consecutive year of a balanced budget with the close of the 2004-2003 fiscal year in June of 2005. Among his recent awards are the Silver Beaver Award, Boy Scouts of America, Outstanding Education Alumni Award, University of Mississippi; Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education; Citizen of the Year, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.; Service Award, NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association); and President of the Year, National Association of African American Honors Programs.
He and his wife, the former Gemma Douglas, have two daughters, Jacqueline B. Lampley, a public school teacher in Birmingham, Alabama; Lisa B. Roberts, a teacher at Tallahassee Community College and operating a music school specializing in Harp; and one granddaughter, Christian Samone Lampley, and grandson, David Akua Roberts.
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