isn't shy about expressing his opinions. As a successful attorney who wins multimillion-dollar settlements and judgments, he's quite good at making a case. As the for West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee and Iberville parishes, he's also good at locking up bad guys.
Clayton attributes much of his skill and success to Southern University and A&M College and the Southern University Law Center. He drew early inspiration from his days as a young driver for legendary judge and Southern University President Dr. Jesse Stone.
"I learned a lot," he says, explaining how that experience and others at Southern gave him a desire to serve on Southern's board. "Who better to articulate the [Southern] story than a grad?"
As a member of the Southern University System Board of Supervisors for much of the last 22 years, Clayton has established himself as a staunch Southern fan and donor — with clear ideas about the future of the Jaguar Nation. He was first appointed to the board in 2000 and served as chair for 2009-2010.
He left the board to run for district attorney and won the race to succeed retiring DA Rick Ward when no one qualified to run against him. Clayton returned to the board in 2023, appointed by then-Gov. John Bel Edwards.
In late November, Gov. Jeff Landry named Clayton Southern's next board chair.
 earlier this year gives the governor authority to name the chairs of some 150 state boards and commissions, including the  and each of the higher-education system boards. Louisiana's Southern University System is the nation's only historically Black university system, with campuses in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport.
Board member and attorney Edwin Shorty, a 1999 Southern graduate, doesn't care for the new law. Neither does state Rep. Kyle Green, a two-time Southern graduate. He but said he's counting on Clayton to do well by Southern.
Shorty is concerned about accreditation. Southern's accreditation is provided by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. SACS provides academic, financial and philosophical standards for higher-education institutions to meet or exceed. In recent years, SACS has caught , including calls for it to be limited or severed from higher-ed accreditation, amid allegations of "wokeness." Some state legislatures have considered bills aimed at achieving that goal.
, each critical to academic quality: institutional autonomy, academic freedom, and peer and professional review. That includes operating campuses without political interference.
"There's supposed to be separation between the politics and the education," said Shorty, who is constable for the 2nd City Court in Orleans Parish. Still, he added, "I have absolutely no concern" about Clayton's commitment.
Board members normally serve six-year terms. Several are rotating off the board. On Friday, Landry reappointed attorney Domoine D. Rutledge, whose term is expiring. The governor also Reggie Abraham, a St. Martinsville native, a Southern grad and an ExxonMobil supervisor; a Southern Law Center grad and a partner with Opelousas' Doran & Cawthorne; Donald Ray Henry, a Southern grad and executive director of the Lafourche Basin Conservation Levee and Drainage District; Chris Masingill, CEO of St. Tammany Corporation; and Caddo Sheriff Henry Whitehorn, a Grambling State University and LSU-Shreveport graduate. Clayton said the group will provide "fresh voices with fresh ideas."
"You're not going to see any drastic changes under a Clayton chairmanship," he told me.
Or will we?
Clayton said Southern must continue to improve. That's why he delivered on a $1 million promise to create the Tony Clayton Championship Plaza, a ring of honor recognizing some Southern greats. He's given much more. Something approaching $3 million, maybe more, he said.
Clayton wants to see the board governance committee focus more on efficiency and transparency. "Taxpayer and student dollars must be spent with a student-first approach," he said.
Is that a Department of Government Efficiency move?Â
Stay tuned.
Clayton, a Democrat, says he's excited by Landry's first year in office. "He's doing a great job," he said. With his appointment and others, Clayton said Landry is "putting us all on the same track."
He said he looks forward to getting with his fellow higher education board chairs to coordinate a Louisiana-wide review of higher education. He'll focus on institutional infrastructure issues and eliminating duplicative program offerings across the state. He cited nursing as an example.
The idea of the University of Louisiana System's Grambling State University joining the Southern system has been discussed in whispers but always knocked down. Could that happen?
Clayton praised both HBCUs. "Southern University and Grambling State University created the Black middle class in Louisiana," he said. "I'm not a fan of diversity, equity and inclusion, but I am a fan of diversity."
Clearly, there will be a new Southern University System era with Clayton stepping up to chair on Jan. 1.
