Lester Monts — a lifelong advocate of diversity in education —has been chosen for the highest honor that Arkansas Tech can bestow upon an alumnus.

Monts, senior vice provost for academic affairs and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Music, is a 1970 graduate of Arkansas Tech. He will be inducted into the Arkansas Tech Hall of Distinction as a Distinguished Alumnus during spring commencement exercises on Saturday at John E. Tucker Coliseum in Russellville.

Monts will be the 101st person inducted into the Arkansas Tech Hall of Distinction under the Distinguished Alumnus category.

He will be the 165th individual in the Hall of Distinction, which also has categories for Distinguished Service, Distinguished Alumni Service, Outstanding Young Alumnus and Distinction in Intercollegiate Athletics.

A native of Little Rock, Ark., he graduated from Arkansas Tech with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education. He went on to earn a Master of Music degree from the University of Nebraska and a doctorate in musicology from the University of Minnesota.

Monts, a professional trumpeter, served on the music faculties at Edinboro University, the University of Minnesota, Case Western Reserve University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, before embarking upon a career in higher education administration.

Monts is dedicated to diversity in education. The first African American to live on the Arkansas Tech campus, Monts played a key role in preparing U-M’s 2003 affirmative action case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

— Some of the information in this story was provided by Arkansas Tech News and Information