Paul Hursey was elected to the Sangamore Honors Society for Academic and School activities at Urbana High School in 1948. He was President of the Hays School Neighborhood Association. The Association desegregated Urbana Schools in 1966. Paul was the first Black elected official in the City of Urbana. He is the former Director of Douglass Center and retired from the University of Illinois as Deputy Director of
Human Resources.