Dr. Lester P. Monts, a 1970 graduate of Arkansas Tech, has been chosen for the highest honor that the university can bestow upon an alumnus.
Monts will be inducted into the Arkansas Tech Hall of Distinction during spring commencement exercises on Saturday, May 15, at John E. Tucker Coliseum in Russellville.
Monts will be the 101st person inducted into the Arkansas Tech Hall of Distinction under the Distinguished Alumnus category.
He will be the 165th individual in the Hall of Distinction, which also has categories for Distinguished Service, Distinguished Alumni Service, Outstanding Young Alumnus and Distinction in Intercollegiate Athletics.
Monts is a native of Little Rock. He graduated from Tech with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education. He went on to earn a Master of Music degree from the University of Nebraska and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Minnesota.
Monts served on the music faculties at Edinboro University, the University of Minnesota, Case Western Reserve University and the University of California at Santa Barbara before embarking upon a career in higher education administration.
Today, Monts is senior vice provost for academic affairs and professor of music at the University of Michigan.
Monts is a lifelong advocate of diversity in education. The first African-American to live on the Arkansas Tech campus, Monts played a key role in preparing the University of Michigan’s 2003 affirmative action case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Monts and his wife, Jeanne, have three grown sons.
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