Biography

Dr. Leon McClinton, Jr., currently serves as Director of Housing & Residential Life at Oklahoma State University. McClinton holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership, a master’s degree in human resource development, and a bachelor of science in textile management from Clemson University. He has worked in University Housing & Residential Life for over 28 years and during that time he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Clemson University Residence Hall Association and was also named Student Affairs Employee of the Year by Clemson University. 

McClinton provided leadership for one of the largest residential life programs in the United States, encompassing 9,125 on-campus students in 47 residence halls, while working at Virginia Tech. He is currently responsible for directing the Housing & Residential Life program for nearly 6,000 on-campus residential students in 26 on-campus residential communities and 6 family-first apartment neighborhoods, with overall supervisory responsibilities for 20 professional staff, 20 graduate assistants, and 320 undergraduate student staff members at Oklahoma State University. He also served as interim Vice President of Student Affairs for the majority of the 2019 spring semester. 

While providing leadership on-campus, he has also been committed to remaining active in professional organizations and expanding his sphere of influence off campus, by serving as a faculty member for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Region IV-West Mid-Level Institute, National Housing Training Institute (NHTI), Southeastern Housing Officers Regional Entry Level Institute (SEAHO RELI), authoring a chapter on Greek Housing that appeared in a multi-volume Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I) Campus Management book series and co-authoring multiple research articles focusing on living-learning environments. He also recently completed the 3-year presidential cycle for ACUHO-I (Vice-President, President-Elect, and President; 2021 - 2023).