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18th President of Paine College
Rev. Dr. Lester A. McCorn is described as a transformational leader, scholar, activist, and non-profit executive, with nearly 40 years of leadership experience. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, he is the newly elected 18th President of Paine College in Augusta, Georgia. He is the former President of Clinton College, a private historically Black college (HBCU) founded in 1894 by the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Under his leadership, Clinton College experienced dramatic growth in enrollment and student success, as well as a transformative $25 million campus building program, which included its first new medical clinic, a newly constructed Academic Center for Excellence, and a Digital Library and Learning Commons. Clinton successfully completed its 10-year accreditation reaffirmation evaluation with zero suggestions, findings, or recommendations. Dr. McCorn has taken the helm of Paine College at an inflection point in its 143-year history. The College has recently adopted a ten-year Transformation Plan in partnership with the Augusta National Golf Club, Bank of America, United Negro College Fund, Community Foundation of CSRA, and EAB. Paine College has been rebranded with the motto: "Preparation for Transformation."
President McCorn is an alumnus of Morehouse College, Yale Divinity School, and Chicago Theological Seminary. He holds the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) from United Theological Seminary, where he was a Gardner C. Taylor Fellow in social justice and prophetic leadership. He also served as an adjunct professor and doctoral mentor to the Taylor Fellows at United Seminary for several years. He is currently completing the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Leadership and Change from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with an expected graduation in Fall of 2025. His dissertation is entitled, "Good News for the Poor and More: Towards Reclaiming Martin Luther King Jr.'s Radical Gospel of Economic Justice in Pursuit of the Beloved Community." Dr. McCorn is former Fellow of the Next Generation Leadership Program of the Rockefeller Foundation, Leadership Greater Chicago, and the Harvard University New Presidents Program. He is also the former board chair of Habitat for Humanity of York County.
Rev. Dr. McCorn is an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and a former pastor of churches in Boston, New Haven, Connecticut, Chicago, Atlanta, and Baltimore. Prior to his appointment to Clinton, he was the Senior Pastor of the historic, 1500-member Pennsylvania Avenue AME Zion Church of Baltimore. He is the author of "Standing on Holy Common Ground: An Africentric Ministry Approach to Prophetic Community Engagement" (MMGI Press: Chicago).
Dr. McCorn is a proud Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He is married to Mrs. Charlene M. McCorn, an elementary school teacher in Fort Mill, South Carolina. They are proud parents of four adult children and five grandchildren.
Paine College, located in Augusta, Georgia, is a private, four-year HBCU that is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine offers a liberal arts education and is accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS).
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