Lucius Holsey Pitts

Lucius Hosley Pitts Sr. was born on February 28, 1915, in James, Georgia. He earned his bachelor's degree from Paine College in Augusta, Georgia when he was twenty-five. He was awarded a postgraduate degree from Fisk University in 1945, and furthered his postgraduate studies at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University) in Atlanta, Georgia; Peabody College (now Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development) in Nashville, Tennessee, and at Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio. == Career ==

Georgia Teachers and Education Association From 1955 until 1961, Pitts was the executive secretary of the Georgia Teachers and Education Association (GTEA), a non-profit professional association and advocacy group of public school educators. Miles College and the Civil Rights movement Pitts started his educational career as the president of Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama from 1961 until 1970. He also was able to double student enrollment to 1,200 and increase the budget. During his time at Miles College and during the Civil Rights movement protests, Pitts helped the faculty and students protest. In 1970, Pitts led a five hour conference with leaders from other Black educational institutions to discuss the Nixon administration intensifying racial tensions by failing to support black education. On hand at the is conference was Harold Stinson, president of Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; George Owens, president of Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, Mississippi; Rembert Stokes, president of Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio; Lemore Carter, representing Texas Southern College in Houston, Texas; and John Monro, who was serving as director of freshman studies at Miles College. Pitts had also served as a vice president for the board of directors at the Southern Regional Council, Atlanta; and as vice president for Commission on Cooperation and Council. Working for the Commission on Cooperation and Council, he served the United Methodist and the Christian Methodist Episcopal churches. Paine College In 1974, when Pitts joined as president of his alma mater Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, he was the first Black president of the school in its 89 years of history. At Paine College, Pitts led an effort to rebuild Haygood Hall, a campus building from 1899 that had burned down in a 1968 fire. Before his death, Pitts had met with president Richard Nixon to discuss the role and importance of African American educational institutions. ==Death and legacy==

Pitts died of a stroke while working on February 25, 1974, in Augusta, Georgia, He was survived by his wife Dafferneeze, and their four children. == References ==