Dr. Alonzo G. Moron, a 1932 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, served for three years as commissioner of public welfare in the Virgin Islands, his birthplace. He was the first African-American head of public housing in the city of Atlanta.

On October 29, 1949, Dr. Alonzo G. Moron becomes the eighth president of Hampton Institute and the first African American to hold the position at the school. He served from 1948-1959. A 1927 graduate of the school, he administered the dormitory additions, changed the curriculum, phased out agricultural and the trades, established the academic program, addressed ideological conflicts, and provided an intellectual voice regarding school desegregation in Hampton. Dr. Moron is also recognized as the first Hampton Institute graduate to become President of the school.

He received an A.M. degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1933 and the LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School in 1944. Mr. Moron was the Director of Education for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity in 1950. He was awarded honorary doctor of Laws degree on June 5, 1955 from Brown at the 187th commencement.

In a speech delivered at Virginia Union University, Dr. Moron addressed the 125th Anniversary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. He made a call for ‘cooperative investment of future grants as well as permanent endowment funds.’ Dr. Moron was dedicated to education and financial independence.

Dr. Moron died in his homeland of the Virgin Islands in 1971.