James B. Ewers Jr. served in leadership positions during a 40-year career in higher education, including at Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia, and Miami University Middletown in Middletown, Ohio. He retired in 2012. Ewers holds a bachelor’s degree from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, a master’s degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and an educational doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is a member of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana.