2008 Louisiana Role Model

Dr. Leon R. Tarver II assumed the duties of Executive Administrator of the newly created Center for Cultural Heritage and International Programs in the Southern University System at Baton Rouge on July 1, 2005.  Most recently, Dr. Tarver served as President of the Southern University System from January 1997 until June 2005.  He also serves as Distinguished Professor of Public Administration in the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs on the Baton Rouge campus and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in Washington, D.C. since 2004.

Dr. Tarver is known as an innovative administrator. Among his numerous accomplishments are serving as Vice Chancellor for Administration for Southern University at Baton Rouge; Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue and Taxation; Assistant Superintendent of the Louisiana Department of Education; Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Urban and Community Affairs; Assistant Dean and Director of the Lucius N. Littauer Program in Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; and Community Relations Specialist, U.S. Department of Justice;

His private sector and entrepreneurial endeavors include President/CEO, United General Financial Corporation, Tricorp Development, Inc. and The Tarver Company (concurrently); Executive Vice President/CAO, National Compensation Control Systems, Inc.; and President/Vice President, J.S. Williams & Son, Inc.  Dr. Tarver is also Founder of the Southern University Museum of Art-Baton Rouge and the Southern University Museum of Art-Shreveport, two gifts that will continue to be cherished by the citizens of this state for years to come.

Dr. Tarver holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Southern University and A&M College-Baton Rouge, LA; Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA; and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from The Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.