James Raymond Lawson (January 15, 1915 – December 21, 1996) was an American physicist and university administrator.
[1][2] Lawson attended Fisk University, where he conducted research in the field of infrared spectroscopy under the mentorship of Elmer S.
[2] His thesis was titled "The Infrared Absorption Spectra of a Number of Heavy Tetrahedral Molecules with Substituted Groups and a Study of Hindered Rotation in Methyl Alcohol.
[2] He became a full professor and chair of the physics department at Fisk University in 1957, and the vice president from 1966 to 1967.
[3] Fisk's predominantly white donor base had been declining since the early 1960s, before Lawson's presidency, when many students participated in nonviolent civil rights demonstrations.
[6] Lawson resigned due to "severe decreases in faculty, staff and student enrollment".