Reginald K. Ellis received a Bachelor of Science degree in African American Studies and a Masters degree in United States History Since 1865, both from Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, Florida.  He also earned the Doctorate of Philosophy degree in history from the University of Memphis.  His dissertation is an analytical biography of James Edward Shepard, the founding President of North Carolina Central University, located in Durham, North Carolina.  Dr. Ellis specializes in the history of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and African American Leaders during the Jim Crow era.  His major area of concentration is African American History with three minor areas of concentration - United States History Since 1877, Contemporary African History, and Oral History. In the Fall of 2011, Dr. Ellis was hired as  Assistant Professor of History at Florida A & M University where he teaches the following courses:  Black Americans in the 20th Century; Introduction to African American History; The African American Experience; The History of Florida and Selected Topics in the Twentieth Century.  He has one publication to his credit, with a host of conference presentations, all pertaining to HBCU presidents in the early twentieth century.