Dr. Frances Lucas is in her eighth year as the tenth president and first female president of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. Dr. Lucas has spent more than 30 years in higher education, bringing to the field a style of leadership that is energetic, inclusive and empowering to others. Previously she served for eight years as Senior Vice-President for Campus Life at Emory University in Atlanta. Before joining Emory, Dr. Lucas was Vice-President for Student Affairs at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio, earning the distinction of youngest Vice-President for Student Affairs in the country at the time.

Her many awards include: Mississippi’s Most Outstanding Businesswoman, as selected by the Mississippi Business Journal; the Mississippi Woman of the Year award from Mississippi State University’s Women’s Commission; and a Pillar of the Professions award from NASPA, a national higher education organization. In addition, in 2008, Lucas has been honored with a membership in the 2008 Class of Dynamic Women of Mississippi, the Delta Gamma Shield Award, which is a national award for professional achievement, and the Mississippi Women in Higher Education Leadership Award.

Sought after as a speaker, Dr. Lucas frequently keynotes at national, regional and state conferences and provides guest lectures at colleges, civic organizations and schools.

Dr. Lucas has two children, Michael, age 16 and Anna Catherine, age 14.

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