Dr. Clara Ross Stamps is the chief marketing and communications officer at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). She is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of all marketing, branding, events and communications strategies designed to protect, promote, and build the identity and reputation of TMCF. With more than a 30-year career as a leader in tourism and higher education, Stamps is a dedicated executive, marketer and educator. Her leadership philosophy is deeply rooted in the fact that she believes in people and possibilities. Stamps is truly passionate about creating opportunities for students to thrive and achieve their educational goals.
Prior to joining TMCF, Stamps served in roles as acting president and senior vice president of brand identity and university relations at Kentucky State University. During that time, she secured $33 million in funding from the Kentucky General Assembly in partnership with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education; established a $2.5 million nursing scholarship and internship partnership; collaborated with the university provost to streamline the adjunct and overload budget for a savings of $700,000; revitalized employee giving campus-wide through payroll deduction; and realigned Kentucky State’s brand reputation.
Before joining Kentucky State, Stamps was the vice president for marketing and communication at Alcorn State University, where she and her team worked to optimize Alcorn’s online presence and social media initiatives to create awareness and enhance knowledge of the Alcorn brand among key audiences, while enhancing the institution’s reputation. Her innovative efforts produced enrollment growth and significant positive media coverage of Alcorn’s people and programs.
Her accolades include senior administrator of the year awards at Kentucky State and Alcorn State. In 2012, Stamps was honored as a Top 20 leader under 40 by the Vicksburg Post and a member of Who’s Who in Black Mississippi for her educational leadership and service. While working in the tourism industry, Stamps was voted as the 2005 Mississippi Society of Associate Executives Outstanding Associate Member of the Year.
Stamps was recently nominated and selected to attend the 18th annual U.S. Army War College National Security Seminar. As a member of the class of 2024, she will actively participate in the Army’s center for strategic thought, examining current national security and defense issues and perspectives.
Stamps earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in marketing and emphasis in public relations from Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. She earned her Master of Science in business administration from the University of Phoenix. Stamps participated as a fellow of the Iota Cohort of the Higher Education Leadership Foundation (HELF), on the executive-level administrator track. She earned her Doctorate in Education in adult and higher educational leadership with an emphasis in governance and policy studies from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Stamps takes pride in being a mother of two sons, Damon Stamps Jr. and Damonte Stamps. Demonstrating her commitment to her community and community service, she is a dedicated lifetime member of the NAACP and an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.