33rd General President Herman "Skip" Mason, Jr., author, educator, historian, and community servant is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, where he attended the Atlanta Public Schools, graduating from Therrell High School in 1980. He received his Bachelors of Arts degree from Morris Brown College in 1984. Following graduation, he went on to receive a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science with a concentration in African-American History from Clark Atlanta University in 1989. He has also studied at the Phillips School of Theology. Currently, he serves as the Interim Vice President of Student Services/Dean of Students and College Archivist at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and holds the endowed directorship as the Edward and Hermese Director of Morehouse College’s Learning Resource Center.

“Since the day I picked up the Alpha history book (and that was before I went on line),
I have been madly in love with Alpha's history.”

Mason was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., on April 4 1982 through the Iota Chapter at Morris Brown College. By August of the same year he was President of the chapter.  During his tenure as Chapter President, the Iota Chapter made many strides and was credited with many successes, including being named Georgia College Chapter of the Year in spring 1983.
During his senior year in college, Mason began attending Eta Lambda Chapter meetings.  After graduating from Morris Brown College in 1984, he immediately joined the Eta Lambda chapter and has been active since that time.

Over the past twenty-six year, Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. has been an active member of the Fraternity.  During his first year as a member of the chapter, he was assigned to work on the Eta Lambda Historical Committee with Brother Daughtry Thomas, A.J. Lewis and Father H.J.C.Bowden. Within a few years, Mason became the committee chair and published a pictorial history of Eta Lambda Chapter.  Within the Eta Lambda Chapter, Mason has also served as President, Chaplain, Historian, and Chairman of various committees.  Most notably, during Mason’s term as President, the chapter contributed over $50,000 to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Project and a tenant was acquired for the Alpha Community Center, which led to the sale of the center for 1.3 million dollars.

Mason has also been actively involved in the Georgia District and the Southern Region, serving as a member of the leadership team at both levels.  As the Historian for the Southern Region, a history of the Southern Region was published.

On the National level, Herman Mason, Jr. has served in the administrative cabinets of many of Alpha’s Past General Presidents.  Under the leadership of the 29th General President, Milton C. Davis, Brother Mason was appointed as the fraternity's first National Archivist.  During his tenure, the fraternity's archives were transferred to the Moorland Spingarn Research Center at Howard University.

Herman “Skip” Mason, Jr. has authored several books and produced various videos including: Going Against the Wind: A History of African Americans in Atlanta; Black Atlanta in the Roaring Twenties; African-American Life in Jacksonville, Florida; The History of Black Entertainment in Atlanta; and History of African-American in DeKalb County, African-American Life in East Point and Washington, Georgia and the Talented Tenth: The Founders and Presidents of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.  He has also served as a consultant and curator on numerous projects and exhibits documenting the African-American experience.  He served as a consultant and researcher for the documentary “Alpha Phi Alpha: A Century of Leadership. 

Mason has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Iota Chapter Brother of the Year, Georgia Alumni Brother of the Year, Southern Region Brother of the Year and National Alumni Brother of the Year, 2006 Georgia Governor’s Award in the Humanities and the Outstanding Georgia Citizen from the Secretary of State Office.  

In 27 years of membership, Mason has attended twenty-six (26) General Conventions-- only missing his first convention in 1982, because he was not informed that there was one. He has attended the Inaugurations of Past General Presidents Sutton, Teamer, Ponder, Davis, Wallace, Johnson and Matthews.

Currently, the 33rd General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Mason is also a  member of Sigma Pi Phi (Kappa Boule'), and Prince Hall Masons, St. James Lodge No. 4 and the Atlanta Consistory No. 24.  He is a member of Leadership Atlanta, the Society of American Archivists, the Association for the Study of Afro American Life and History and serves on the Board of the Atlanta Branch of the NAACP.

He is married to Harmel Codi Mason and they are the parents of two children, Jewel and Jodari.