Dr. Lynda Brown-Wright currently serves as the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Jackson State University. Prior to joining Jackson State University, Dr. Brown-Wright served in numerous leadership capacities at institutions of higher learning, including vice president for Academic Affairs and dean at Kentucky State University, founding associate provost for Faculty Affairs at Georgia State University, and assistant provost for Faculty Affairs at the University of Kentucky. Additionally, she has served as Department Chair of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology, Associate Director of African American Studies and Research Program and Vice Chair of the IRB, at the University of Kentucky.

In addition to her administrative leadership roles, Dr. Brown-Wright has been a productive researcher, having served as the principal investigator for NIH-funded grants to study the risk factors of cardiovascular disease in African-American children and youth, as well as serving a principal investigator and co-principal investigator on a number of other NIH and foundation grants. She has also authored numerous scholarly publications, made many invited and refereed presentations at national and international learned society meetings, and served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Black Psychology.

A native of Ruston, Louisiana, Dr. Brown-Wright received a bachelor’s in psychology from Grambling State University, an Ed.S. in School Psychology and a M.S. in Educational Psychology from the State University of New York in Albany, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Texas A & M University. She also completed a clinical internship at Medical College of Georgia and Veteran’s Administration Consortium in Augusta, Georgia. As a testament to her work in higher education, she has been the recipient of numerous awards
and accolades acknowledging significant contributions to her discipline, to research, social
justice and the community.