WASHINGTON – Ronald W. Walters, a longtime political analyst and scholar at Howard University and the University of Maryland who was a leading expert on race and politics, has died. He was 72.

PHOTOS: See 'Those We've Lost' in 2009

University of Maryland spokesman Lee Tune said Saturday that Walters died Friday night. He had been suffering from cancer.

Walters spent 25 years at Howard before becoming director of the African American Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland. He has written numerous books and more than 100 articles.

In 1984, Walters served as a deputy campaign manager for the Rev. Jesse Jackson's presidential bid.

He spent most of his professional life in Washington after earning his master's degree and Ph.D. in international studies from American University.