Dr. J. Barry Mason, born in Memphis and raised in Louisiana, was the seventh dean of The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. His campus experience spanned more than 40 years, 22 of those as dean. In addition, he served as interim president of the University for a brief period. And he has played a major role in moving the state’s economy forward through his work in preventing the closure of the Rochester Carburetor plant and setting the foundation for the state’s thriving automobile manufacturing industry.
Dr. Mason earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech University in 1963, He moved to The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he earned his master’s degree in 1964 and his Ph.D. 1967. His national recognition for scholarly achievement began in 197 6 when he was recognized as a Beta Gamma Scholar in the national competition. In 1980 he was recognized as one of l O outstanding scholars on campus. He received the Academy of Marketing Science Outstanding Educator of the Year and was designated a Distinguished Fellow for his contributions to marketing. He has been recognized as one of the top 100 marketing scholars in the past 20 years and is a fellow of the Southwestern Marketing Association and the Southern Marketing Association. He was president of both associations as well as the National Marketing Association.
Dr. Mason is the senior author of eight college textbooks, numerous monographs, and is the co-author of over l00 scholarly articles.
He was awarded the John E. Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award for research, scholarship, and a profound dedication to the art of teaching. He also is a past winner of the Alabama National Alumni Association Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award and recipient of the Western Electric (AT&T) Foundation Award, given annually by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business for the nation’s best undergraduate innovation in business education and is also a recipient of the Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education, Freedom’s Foundation of Valley Forge, for “outstanding efforts to help young people better understand the function and benefits of private enterprise and free-market economics.”
His recognition by the University includes the Minnie C. Miles Endowed Excellence Award, the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award to recognize “the practical application of noble ideals based on excellence on character and service to humanity,” the E. Roger Sayers Award “in recognition of outstanding performance and dedication above and beyond normal duties,” and the Amelia Gayle Watson Distinctive Image Award “epitomizing a person of profound stature.”
He was recognized by the American Marketing Association for his efforts in turning around the 40,000 member national Association at a time it teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. He was also the recipient of the Wayne Lemberg Award in 1999 for “significant, sustained contributions to the American Marketing Association.”
Dr. Mason has been active in the Black Warrior Council of the Boy Scouts of America and is a past President of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce. He was on the Board of Directors of the DCH Regional Healthcare Authority from 1986 to 2007 and served as Chairman of the Board of the Healthcare Authority for eight years. He serves on the DCH Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors and is a past Fellow. He also is Past President of Challenge 21, a local community initiative established to enhance a program of deliberative dialogue on issues crucial to the future of the Tuscaloosa County area, is past President of Junior Achievement, and a past member of the Board of the Jack Warner Foundation.
In 2006 he was selected as an inductee into the West Alabama Civic Hall of Fame and recognized as a Pillar of West Alabama by the West Alabama Community Foundation for sustained contributions to the betterment of the West Alabama area. In 2008 Dr. Mason was selected as the Tuscaloosa County Citizen of the Year by the Civitan Club.
He has been a member of the board of directors at Peoples Bank of Tuscaloosa, First National Bank of Amsouth Bank, Tuscaloosa, and Books-a-Million. Mason and his wife Linda have a daughter, Michele, and a son Michael (deceased).
