The University of Illinois at Chicago’s
Great Cities Institute has awarded the second Vernon D. Jarrett Senior
Fellowship to James W. Compton. James W. Compton was Executive Director of the Chicago Urban
League from 1972 to 1978, and President and CEO from 1978 to 2006. During his tenure, the
Chicago Urban League refocused its interest in education and economic development and developed
a new emphasis on community empowerment. In addition to putting the agency on a firm financial
base, he is credited with changing the organization from primarily a social service organization
to a research organization advocating for public policy, ensuring that the League had a voice on
issues affecting the urban poor and the African American community. Prior to returning to Chicago,
Compton served as the founding Executive Director of the Broome County Urban League in Binghamton, New York.
Compton is a native of Illinois and was born and raised in Aurora. In 1961, he received his bachelor’s degree
in Political Science from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. At Morehouse College, James Compton worked
with Benjamin E. Mays, the college president and legendary educator. While in Atlanta, he received a Charles E.
Merrill Fellowship, which enabled him to study at the University of Grenoble in France. He also participated as
a student representative of the United States in the US-Soviet Union Cultural Exchange Program from 1959-1960.
He has received honorary doctorates from Columbia College in Chicago and Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois.
Compton was also active in the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and brought that interest with him when he came
to Chicago. As a staff member of the Chicago Urban League, he participated in the Chicago Freedom Movement which
was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Dr. King moved to
Chicago in 1966 to lead the Movement to end discrimination in housing, employment and schools in the north.
Compton is a member of several boards, including Commonwealth Edison, DePaul University, Ariel Mutual Funds, ETA
Creative Arts Foundation, the Big Shoulders Fund, Morehouse Research Institute, and the Seaway Bank and Trust
Company. He has also been Board President of the Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Board of Education,
and is a Life Trustee of the Field Museum of Natural History.
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