Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones
| Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 6, 1905 Lake Charles Calcasieu Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Died | April 9, 1982 (aged 76) Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Ouachita Parish Louisiana |
| Residence |
Grambling Lincoln Parish, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupation | President and baseball coach, Grambling State University |
| Spouse(s) | Mildred Shay Jones (married 1937) |
| Children |
Ralph Jones, Jr. |
Ralph Jones, Jr.
John Arthur Jones
Grandsons:
Ralph Eldridge Jones
Ernest Emerson Jones
Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, Sr. (August 6, 1905 – April 9, 1982), also known as Ralph W. E. Jones or Prez Jones, was from 1936 until his retirement in 1977 the second president of historically black Grambling State University in Grambling in Lincoln Parish in north Louisiana.
The grandson of a slave, Jones was born in Lake Charles, the seat of Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana. His father, John Sebastian Jones, was the first dean of historically black Southern University in Baton Rouge, from which Jones received his bachelor's degree. His mother, the former Marie Morrison, was a schoolteacher in Lake Charles. Jones obtained a master's degree from Columbia University in New York City. Though often addressed as "Doctor", Jones did not have an earned doctorate but honorary awards from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston and the University of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland.
After a short stint at the former Lamson College in Alexandria, Louisiana, Jones came to Grambling in 1926, when it was the two-year Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institution. There he taught chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Having been a player in the former Negro League, Jones launched the Grambling baseball team. He also was the dean of men and the college registrar. Under his tenure, Grambling grew from 120 students to a peak of 4,200, nearly all African Americans. The school grew from a few modest buildings to a multimillion-dollar physical plant under Jones's leadership. When Jones was only thirty, he became both the president of the school and the baseball coach as well. His actual total Grambling service, 1926 to 1977, exceeded fifty years.
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