Hilliard L. Lackey serves as Visiting Professor of Urban Higher Education for the Jackson State University (JSU) Executive Ph.D. Program. He earned degrees (B.A., History and Political Science, MS.Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision, and the Ed.S. in Educational Administration) from Jackson State University and the Ph.D. in Higher Education administration from University of Mississippi. He has been an administrator/professor at JSU including; Director of Alumni Affairs, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs, Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President. He has also served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of Enrollment Management at LeMoyne-Owen (Memphis, TN). Dr. Lackey is a 2008 inductee into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, 2003 Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund HBCU Alumnus of the Year, 1997 NAFEO Distinguished alumni Award honoree, and in 2004the McCormick Freedom Museum of Chicago placed his quote on a monument. He was a Fulbright Fellow to North Africa (the Maghreb) and is an authority on the Historical Geography of the Mississippi Delta.
Hilliard Lackey served as Chief of Staff in the Mississippi State Guard and retired as a Brigadier General.