Earlier positions include provost of Tuskegee Institute, and professor of economics at Morehouse College.
[2][3] Although the Hefners were too poor to own books, James was soon recognized as exceptionally intelligent by his elementary school principal, and subsequently invited to visit her home and read her encyclopedias, an opportunity Hefner availed himself of every day after school for nearly eight years.
Hefner viewed his own role as carrying on the tradition of his teachers, encouraging young African-Americans[7] to achieve their full potential.
[4] Dr. James A. Hefner became the seventh president of Jackson State University on May 1, 1984, serving until April 1, 1991.
During Hefner's 14-year tenure as president of Tennessee State University,[8] he oversaw the implementation of a $112 million capital improvement plan, secured as part of the Geier agreement that attempted to end race-based disparity in higher education spending in Tennessee.