Former LU President and Alumnus Honored in New Biography — Now Available at the Lincoln Bookstore

Lincoln University celebrates the life and leadership of alumnus Dr. James Frank, featured in a new biography.

A newly released biography, Seasons of the Journey: The Biography of Dr. James Frank, chronicles the life and legacy of Dr. James Frank, an African American leader, trailblazer and legend whose career broke barriers across higher education and athletics.

Frank made history as the only African American to serve as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He was also the only alumnus to become president of his alma mater, Lincoln University in Missouri, the first dean of students and vice president of Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York, and the first full-time commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Written by his wife of 60 years, Dr. Zelma Lloyd Frank, the biography explores his life of service, achievement and dedication. The book offers readers an intimate look at Frank’s “indelible and powerful influence” in each of his leadership roles, according to its description.

Zelma Frank

Zelma Frank takes readers through her husband’s “fascinating journey through triumphs and defeats, historical and emotional moments, marriage and family, dynamic recognitions, and historical connections as they unfolded during those times.” More than a chronological account, the biography is described as “a story of epic proportions — an intriguing and incredible real-life journey.”

Former NCAA President Mark A. Emmert contributed the book’s foreword, writing: “There are many who have played college basketball, who have served our nation in uniform, who have earned a doctorate, have become leaders within their chosen profession, and have been model husbands and fathers. It is, however, extraordinarily rare to find someone who has achieved each of those accomplishments — and indeed many more — in a single lifetime. This story deserves our attention because of that rarity, because James Frank did all those things, and we should all know his story and learn from his example.”

Zelma Frank documents her husband’s enduring impact on universities and organizations nationwide. His legacy is marked by integrity, educational excellence, strong work ethics, athletic endeavor, unselfishness and family values.

His name is memorialized in several places: a room in the NCAA national headquarters in Indianapolis; a building and the wing of another building at Lincoln University; and the SWAC headquarters building in Birmingham, Alabama. James Frank was also a lifetime member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the NAACP and the Lincoln University Alumni Association.

Zelma Frank is an accomplished educator with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Lincoln University (Missouri), a master’s degree from Herbert H. Lehman College of the City University of New York, and a doctorate from the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Her teaching career spans several states — Kansas, Missouri, Massachusetts and New York — and includes roles as a reading consultant and diagnostician in White Plains, New York; instructor and director of the reading clinic at Lincoln University; and English professor and director of student support services at Southern University in New Orleans.

She has been inducted into the Lincoln University Alumni Hall of Fame and received the Kansas City, Missouri, Lincoln High School Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement. Her previous works include articles published in higher education journals and The History of the President’s Houses at Lincoln University.

Seasons of the Journey: The Biography of Dr. James Frank is her second published book. Zelma Frank is a lifetime member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., the NAACP and the Lincoln University Alumni Association.