[1] In 1942, Dr. Colston was named the second president of Bethune-Cookman University following the first retirement of the school's founder, Mary McLeod Bethune.
[2] It was during Colston’s term as president that Savannah State became accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
[2] During his term as president the campus was modernized to include the construction of the first student center and the installation of the first campus-wide telephone system.
As the school's second president, Colston oversaw the transfer of Bronx Community College from its temporary location to its Harlem River campus prior to the fall of 1973.
The James A. Colston Administration Building on Savannah State University's campus is named in honor of Dr.