Jacquelyn Williams McCray, Ph.D.

Jacquelyn Williams McCray, a native of Monticello, Arkansas is retired dean/director and professor emeritus of the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences (SAFHS) at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She was named Dean/Director 1890 Research and Extension in July 1995 and retired June 30, 2008.

Under McCray’s leadership, the School made significant strides in image enhancement, program and faculty expansion, resource development, and student recruitment and retention—including the establishment of the first (of two) nationally recognized USDA Centers of Excellence for Regulatory Sciences, which was followed by Aquaculture & Fisheries. Her grant writing and contract negotiations through the United States Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies exceeded $20 million. During her tenure, the School emerged as the University’s fastest growing academic unit having shown an enrollment increase of 40% while she was Dean/Director.

Prior to her appointment as dean, McCray served I numerous administrative positions in the School. She entered administration from a faculty position in the Department of Human Sciences where she conducted housing and community development research in Arkansas and the Southern Region for more than 20 years. During this time, she served as chair of two Southern Region Housing Research Projects, and she conducted contract research for the Lower Mississippi Delta Commission, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the Arkansas Delta Finance Authority.

Professionally, McCray is a long-time member of the American Association of housing Educators having served as its national president in 1991-92. She has been a member of the Research Advisory Committee for the Housing Assistance in Washington, DC, and she is widely published in major housing, family and community development journals with more than 50 referred publications to her honor. McCray also served as chair of the Association of 1890 Extension Administrators and as a member of the National Extension Committee on Organization and Policy.

McCray earned the bachelor of science degree from Arkansas AM&N College (now UAPB), the master of arts degree from Michigan State University, and the doctor of philosophy degree from Florida State University. She has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from both UAPB and Florida State University. She was also named a Centennial Laureate in 2007, one of the top 100 graduates of the Florida State University by the College of Human Sciences during its 100 years of existence. McCray is a former member of the Board of Directors of Southern Bancorp Inc., along with Hillary Rodham Clinton. Southern Bancorp is a CDFI Bank-Holding Company with branches in eastern Arkansas and western Mississippi, and she served on the Southern Bancorp Community Partners Board, the non-profit arm of Southern Bancorp. McCray was appointed by Governor Mike Beebe to serve two terms on the Arkansas Burial Association Board. In 2012, she was inducted into the UAPB/AM&N Alumni Hall of Fame.

After 42 years of service to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, she retired in 2008. She returned to her alma mater in January 2014, to serve as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs from 2014—2017. Most recently, Dr. McCray was recognized as a “Hidden Figure” in honor of Women’s History Month by the City of Pine Bluff in March, 2024