Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr.

President, Angelo State University; Lt. General, U.S. Air Force (Retired)

Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr. was appointed president of Angelo State University on Aug. 17, 2020. He is the sixth president of ASU and the 11th president of the institution since it began as San Angelo Junior College in 1928. He is also the second ASU alumnus to serve as president, and the first Black president in the history of the institution.

A retired Air Force Lieutenant General, Hawkins is an internationally respected subject-matter expert in leadership, strategic planning, cybersecurity, military matters and Christian discipleship development. He has over four decades of business, military, academic and spiritual development experience.

During his 37-year Air Force career, Hawkins served as the director of coalition forces for the Multi-National Forces in Iraq, as well as director of coalition forces for Operation Southern Watch in Saudi Arabia. He commanded at all levels of military command, including Cadet Squadron 24 at the U.S. Air Force Academy and as commander of the Air Force ROTC Corps, Junior ROTC Corps and Officer Training School, which at the time had a combined enrollment of over 20,000 students and officer candidates.

His many professional and military honors include the Secretary of the Air Force Leadership Award, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Bronze Star.

Following his Air Force retirement, Hawkins returned to San Angelo and immediately became involved in the community. He is the director of Ezra Ministries, which conducts short-term mission trips to Haiti, and serves as pastor of San Angelo’s Christian Fellowship Baptist Church. He also started the Hawkins Group, a digital, information technology and cybersecurity firm, and teaches leadership courses at Angelo State.

Hawkins was recently recognized with the 21st Distinguished Citizen Award by the Texas Southwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and he is the first Concho Valley recipient of the National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award. He and his wife, Maria, were named 2018 Citizens of the Year by the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce.

A 1977 ASU distinguished graduate, Hawkins earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in computer science. He later graduated cum laude from Liberty Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree, and has also earned a Master of Science in management and human relations from Abilene Christian University, and a Master of Science in national resource strategy from the National Defense University. He attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School Program for Senior Managers in Government, and has attended senior executive programs at the Air University at Maxwell AFB.