Veterans Day Celebration

Keynote Speaker and Grand Marshal

James W. Crawford III, Vice Admiral, JAGC, U.S. Navy (Retired), is the 14th President of Texas Southern University (TSU). He was appointed by the TSU Board of Regents in May 2024. Crawford is a decorated veteran, strategic planner and decision-maker, academic leader, collaborator, and problem solver governed by three guiding principles: faith, family, and service.

Crawford was appointed by President Obama as the 43rd Judge Advocate General of the Navy. He served as the principal military legal counsel to the Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations, and the Department of Defense Representative for Ocean Policy Affairs (REPOPA). He also led over 2,300 attorneys, enlisted paralegals, and civilian employees of the worldwide Navy JAG Corps community.

A 1979 student-athlete graduate of Belmont Abbey College, he was commissioned through the JAG Corps Student Program in 1983, following graduation from the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill. He later earned a Master of Laws degree (Ocean and Coastal Law) from the University of Miami School of Law and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. In 2008, he was named an MIT Seminar XXI Fellow.

Crawford previously served as a consultant on International Humanitarian Law for Palantir Technologies for developing artificial intelligence solutions to improve protections for civilians and civilian infrastructure during armed conflict. From 2020 to 2023, he served as the first male president of Felician University, a 2,100-student Roman Catholic university in Lodi and Rutherford, NJ. He is well-recognized for steering the University through the COVID-19 pandemic and securing $17 million in grants for university capital improvements, including expansion of the University’s technology infrastructure and STEM programming while delivering a premium educational experience to the underserved and first-generation student population of New Jersey. As president, Crawford reenergized the staff and faculty by restructuring the executive leadership team, increasing faculty involvement in university affairs, and establishing a Staff Assembly to operate as part of the shared governance apparatus of the institution. He also completely rebuilt and revitalized the University’s relationship with the Borough of Rutherford Mayor, City Council and Chief of Police.

Prior to arriving at Felician, Crawford served as Chairman of the Bishop’s Advisory Council on Racism for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, VA, from 2019 to 2022 and drafted the charter for the organization. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children, Arch Diocese of Newark, NJ, and is serving his second three-year term on the Board of Trustees for Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, NC. He also served as an inaugural member of the Council of Presidents, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges from 2022 to 2023. Initially a plenary member of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, he later served on the Executive Committee from 2021 to 2023.