Jackson Free Press

The College of Liberal Arts at Jackson State University recently named Dr. Mario Azevedo, a professor and interim chair of the Department of History and Philosophy, to serve as dean. Azevedo began in his new position Jan. 1.

Azevedo majored in history and minored in French at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and received a bachelor of arts degree in history in 1970. The following year, he received a master of arts degree in history from American University in Washington, D.C. Azevedo went on to major in history with a minor in African American studies at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and earned a Ph.D. in history there in 1975. He also earned a master's degree in public health epidemiology, the study of infectious diseases, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998.

The new dean came to JSU in 2006 from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he served as chair and Frank Porter Graham professor in the Africana Studies Department of the university's College of Arts and Sciences since 1986.

Prior to joining the history department, Azevedo worked in the JSU Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He also served as interim dean for the College of Public Service, which includes the School of Health Sciences, School of Social Work, and School of Policy and Planning, from 2009 to 2013; as acting dean for the College of Public Service in fall 2008; and as interim associate dean for the School of Health Sciences from 2007 to 2009.

"I plan to do my best to move the College of Liberal Arts forward, eliciting the cooperation and assistance of the faculty, staff and students," Azevedo said in a press release.