Wesley Cornelious McClure

Wesley Cornelious McClure (1942 – December 6, 2013) was an American civil rights activist and academic administrator. Born in Jackson, Tennessee, he was one of the "Freshman Four", a group of students at Lane College, who staged a sit-in at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Jackson in 1960, protesting racial segregation. He went on to lead three prominent historically black colleges and universities over the course of his academic career. He served as the 9th and longest-serving president of Lane College from 1992 until his death in 2013.

Early life and education Wesley Cornelious McClure was born in 1942 in Jackson, Tennessee. He graduated from Merry High School in Jackson in 1960.

McClure attended Lane College, where he earned BSc in mathematics in 1964. At Lane, McClure told his classmates that his greatest ambition was to return to Lane as its president, a goal he achieved 32 years later. He got his MSc in mathematics in 1968 and EdD in educational research in 1970, both from the University of Virginia. He subsequently completed a post-doctoral training at Harvard University.

The protest sparked a broader movement throughout Jackson, as demonstrations spread to other downtown businesses in the fight against Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. Woolworth's was located at the corner of Main Street and North Liberty Street in Jackson — the site where City Hall now stands.

Dr. McClure often spoke of the influence of his community on his character: "I'm a product of the hard work, the faith and the persistence of a group of people, mostly deceased now, who refused to let me consider not succeeding."

Lane College (1992–2013) On August 20, 1992, Dr. McClure was named the ninth president of Lane College and assumed the position on September 1, 1992, returning to his alma mater more than three decades after graduating. Lane College is a private historically black college affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Jackson, Tennessee.

Enrollment and institutional growth Under Dr. McClure's leadership, the College experienced significant growth across every dimension of institutional life, including enrollment, financial stability, faculty strength, curriculum expansion, campus infrastructure, and student morale.

Legacy Dr. Wesley Cornelious McClure, Ed.D. died on December 6, 2013, at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee. He was 71 years old.

Two major buildings at Lane College bear his name: The Chambers-McClure Academic Center (CMAC), the college's primary academic and convocation building, dedicated in February 1997. The Wesley C. McClure Science and Business Building, dedicated in a renaming ceremony on March 9, 2023.

Dr. McClure's civil rights legacy is also memorialized in a permanent exhibit at Jackson City Hall honoring the "Freshman Four," the Lane College students who staged the 1960 Woolworth's sit-in.

Personal life McClure was married to Mary Bradley McClure of Germantown, Tennessee, for 48 years. They had three children: Wesley McClure II, Carter Bradley McClure, and Dessalines McClure Pieh. He was also the father of Toussaint McClure.