Founder's Day Convocation Program

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The Founder’s day ConvoCaTion

CommemoraTing The

one hundred FIFTY-FIVE year hisTory oF

BenediCT College

Thursday, the Twentieth of March

Two Thousand and Twenty-Five Eleven O'Clock in the Morning

Antisdel Chapel

Benedict College

Columbia, South Carolina

A LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER

This letter was written byMrs. Bathsheba A. Benedict to Dr. Moorehouse, general secretaryof the American Home Mission Society, on August 17, 1888. Mrs. Benedict responded to an invitation to appear at the school’s annual fund-raiser.

August 17, 1888

Dear Sir,

Your letter came in due time, found me absent from home hence the delay in answering. I thank you for your kind invitation to be present at the Institute on the 26th of September. It would give me much pleasure to be present, to look into the faces and take hands of the teachers, benefactors, and friends of the Freedmen’s schools. As iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. May God’s blessing rest upon you this Memorial Day. May He guide you in all your deliberations and give you all the wisdom you need. I have never had any misgiving but that the Freedmen’s schools were His own right-hand planting. May God put it into the hearts of the friends to give liberally that the fund may be raised. May I have a mind to do as he would have me to do. Remember me kindly to the friends present. The journey is long. I do not think it wise to attempt it. May God be with you is the prayer of your friend.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BENEDICT COLLEGE

Benedict College, originally Benedict Institute, was founded in 1870 under the auspices of the AmericanBaptist HomeMissionSociety.Mrs.BathshebaA.Benedict ofPawtucket,RhodeIsland,provided financial support for the establishment of Benedict. Adding to a small bequest from her husband, Mrs. Benedictprovided$13,000towardsthepurchaseofaneighty-acreplantationnearColumbia,SouthCarolina, as the site for a new school for the recently emancipated people of African descent. Benedict Institute set out from humble beginnings in a dilapidated former mansion owned by a person who enslaved others to prepare men and women to be “powers for good in society.”

Duringthefirstquartercenturyofitsexistence,Benedict Institute’seducationalprograms addressed the severely limited economic and social conditions of the Black population in the South. The Institute’s original objective was totrain teachers and preachers,and its first curriculumincluded, of necessity, reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, and religion. Later, the curriculum was expanded to include the traditional college disciplines and an industrial department offering carpentry, shoemaking, printing, and painting.

On November 2, 1894, the institution was chartered as a liberal arts college by the South Carolina Legislature and the name “Benedict Institute” was changed to Benedict College”.

From its founding to 1930, a succession of northern white Baptist ministers and educators led Benedict College. The year 1930 signaled the succession of African American presidents at the College.

Over the years, the College has experienced steady growth in its academic and co-curricular programs and its physical plant. During recent decades, this growth has included land acquisition, construction of new residence halls and recreational facilities, renovation and upgrades of numerous facilities, and extensive community development efforts.

The College currently offers bachelor’s degree programs in twenty-six major areas of study. Benedict College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and master’s degrees. (Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia, 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Benedict College.) The College’s Social Work Program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education; the Environmental Health Science Program is accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council; the Tyrone Adam Burroughs School of Business and Entrepreneurship is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, the Environmental Engineering Program is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), and the Art Program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

On June 30, 2017, Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis was appointed by the Board of Trustees as the 14th and first female President of Benedict College. Intentional, professional, and thoroughly committed to the proliferation and transformation of colleges and universities that serve underrepresented men and women of color, Dr. Artis brings to Benedict College a depth of knowledge in higher education and an enthusiasm for students’ success that is unmatched in today’s higher education arena.

Under Dr. Artis’ leadership, Benedict College completed a 5-year Strategic Plan entitled - Bold Execution of a Strategic Transformation - The B.E.S.T. Plan and is currently guided strategically by B2: Focus on the Future. The College has stabilized our financial position, streamlined our programming, embarked on an aggressive capital improvement plan, decreased tuition, increased admission standards, increased our enrollment, and exceeded our fundraising targets. These efforts have received national attention and in March 2019, the College received the ACE Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation and in the same year was honored by HBCU Digest as the HBCU of the Year. These and other initiatives represent TheBESTofBC!

MR. TYLER MCALLISTER

Founder’s Day Convocation Speaker

Tyler McAllister graduated twice from Benedict College earning a B.S. degree in Business Administration in 2017 and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with a concentration in supply chain management in 2020. McAllister was selected as the 2017 Tyrone Adam Burroughs School of Business and Entrepreneurship’s Most Outstanding Senior as well as the School’s 2017 Best Senior Project Award recipient. He was a scholar and an athlete who was recognized as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s (SIAC) Commissioner’s All-Academic Team from 2014-2017. McAllister also earned the highest-grade point average on the football team from 2015-2017.

McAllister used his Benedict College education to get from where he was, to where he is as evidenced by his promotion from Operations Area Manager II at Amazon in 2016 to Production Controller for Target Distribution in 2019. His MBA degree provided additional opportunities for advancement from Manufacturing Department Manager for the PepsiCo in 2022 to his current position of Third Party Logistics (3PL) Warehouse FulfillmentSeniorManagersince2023atCharlotte,NorthCarolina.Inhiscurrentposition, Mr. McAllister supervises Warehouse Fulfillment Operations for the PepsiCo in Joliet, Illinois; Whiteston, Indiana; Memphis, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; and Charlotte, North Carolina.

At each level of career advancement, McAllister relied upon the knowledge he gained and the skills he developed at Benedict College. His academic accomplishments qualified him as a recipient of the President’s List; his involvement in athletic competition brought him awards on the field and success in the classroom; his work off-campus with the Sisters of Charities and his service-learning activities on campus, created the quintessential Benedict College graduate.

McAllister, through precept and example, believes that a salient component of success is to share it with the wider community.. The Business Administration Department wrote that McAllister was recommended for this occasion “based upon his impressive academic record and his impeccable character. He is an adamant professional who keeps a positive attitude. Although his schedule is busy, he finds time to provide service to his community and to mentor students.”

Indeed, Mr. Tyler McAllister represents “TheBESTofBC!”

THE FOUNDER’S DAY CONVOCATION

Presiding

PRELUDE: ……………………… Alpha and Omega……………..……………....Israel Houghton arr Ronald Green

Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble

Mr. H. Wade Johnson, Director of Bands

Mr. Ronald T. Green, Assistant Director of Bands

THE ACADEMIC PROCESSION: …Pomp and Circumstance...............................................Elgar

Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble

The assembly will please rise when the academic procession enters the Chapel and remain standing through the singing of the first stanza of Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.

THE PRESENTATION OF THE COLORS…………………………………..…Benedict College Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)-Color Guard

THE ANTHEMS: The Star-Spangled Banner ... Francis Scott Key and John Stafford Smith Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble

Mr. H. Wade Johnson, Director of Bands

Mr. Ronald T. Green, Assistant Director of Bands

Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing …James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson Faculty/Staff Chorale and the Benedict College Choir

Mr. J. David Bratton Director of Choirs

Mrs. Rosemary Griffin, Assistant Director

Dr. Dawn Mills Campbell, Director of the Faculty/Staff Chorale

THEOPENINGREMARKS ...........................................................................Dr.RoslynClark Artis

THE INVOCATION .............................................................................Minister Cameron Seawright Student Campus Minister

THE OCCASION ................................................................................................Ms. Autumn Tisdale Miss Benedict College 2024-2025

THE READING OF THE HISTORY OF BENEDICT COLLEGE Mr. Scott E. Blanks Professor of Theater Arts Unit

MUSIC:

Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble

.CeCe Winans arr.Ronald T. Green

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SPEAKER

….Mr. Malik Hudson

Mister Benedict College 2024-2025

THE CONVOCATION SPEAKER...................................................................Mr. Tyler McAllister Third Party Logistics (3PL) Warehouse Fulfillment Senior Manager PepsiCo Charlotte,NorthCarolina

THERESPONSE.............................................................................................Dr.RoslynClarkArtis

MUSIC: ………………………….. He’s Able…………………………………..…Deitrick Haddon

Benedict College Faculty/Staff Chorale and College Choir

THE INDUCTION OF ALUMNI INTO THE BENEDICT COLLEGE HALF CENTURY CLUB AND RECOGNITION OF OTHER CLASSES

Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis

THEFOUNDER’S DAYLITANY Ms.EmmieDavis Instructor of English English, Foreign Languages, and Mass Communication Unit

THE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS............ Mrs. Leandra Hayes-Burgess Vice President for Institutional Advancement

THE ALMA MATER …..Anna Douglas

Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble, and Benedict College Faculty/Staff Chorale and College Choir

THE RETIRING OF THE COLORS

Benedict College Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC)-Color Guard

THE BENEDICTION ............................................................................MinisterCameronSeawright

The assembly will please rise for the benediction and thereafter the ushers will direct the recession.

THE ACADEMIC RECESSION: Pomp and Circumstance Elgar

Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble

POSTLUDE: I’m so Glad……………………………………………………...arr. Ronald T. Green

Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble

THE FOUNDER’S DAY LITANY

LEADER: In 1870, Mrs. Bathsheba A. Benedict founded Benedict Institute, under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society.

AUDIENCE: The institution encourages its students to become “powers for good in society.”

LEADER: In 1894, Benedict Institute won its college charter, becoming Benedict College, and awarded its first Bachelor of Arts degree in the same year.

AUDIENCE: More than 18,000 students have received undergraduate degrees from this institution.

LEADER: Fourteen presidents have led the College since its founding: Timothy L. Dodge, Lewis Colby, E.J. Goodspeed, Charles E. Becker, Abraham C. Osborn, Byron W. Valentine, Clarence B. Antisdel, John J. Starks, John A. Bacoats, Benjamin F. Payton, Henry Ponder, Marshall C. Grigsby, David H. Swinton, and Roslyn Clark Artis.

AUDIENCE: Benedict College will be a leader in providing transformative learning experiences for a diverse student body.

LEADER: Students are defined by superior cultural and professional competencies that are nurtured and developed by faculty, staff, and stakeholders who value innovation, customer service, community, and industry engagement.

AUDIENCE: Alumni of the College are among the nation’s most responsible and talented citizens and represent TheBESTofBC.

LEADER: We remember and revere the hundreds of faculty and staff, living or deceased, who have contributed to the development and effectiveness of this College.

AUDIENCE: To them we give thanks for their faithfulness in all things, both large and small.

LEADER: We are grateful for the community which has received Benedict College into its midst and supported us for more than 150 years.

AUDIENCE: We are grateful for all assistance, and we pledge to be of continuing service to the needs of the community.

ALL: In the millennium, during a period of unprecedented growth and development, the institution draws on its rich past to remain one of the nation’s premier Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Written by the late Mrs. Doris Wright Johnson

CLASS OF 1975 INDUCTEES

Mr. Alvin Abney

Mr. Harold L. Adams

Mr. Ernest Alexander

Ms. Carlean Alford

Mrs. Barbara Moore Anderson

Mrs. Doris D. Jeter Anderson

Ms. Terry Andrews Baker

Mrs. Jannice Inez Dean Bannerman

Ms. Shirnetha Robinson Belk

Mr. Charles Larry Bennett

Ms. Sonja Benson

Mrs. Viola Hayes Best

Miss Ruby Mae Black

Mrs. Judy K. Bradley

Mrs. Essie Green Brisbon

Mrs. Darlene L. Gadson Brooks

Ms. Barbara Evone Brown

Ms. Laura Ann White Bryant

Mr. Rodney Bryant

Mrs. Earlene Burgess

Ms. Jacqueline Burnett

Dr. Tyrone A. Burroughs

Mrs. Sandra Mathis Burton

Mrs. Edna L. Butler

The Honorable Benjamin F. Byrd

Mr. James Byrd

Ms. Gwendolyn Cameron

Mrs. Ernestine Holmes Canty

Mrs. Sarah Carroll

Mrs. Linda Williams Cayruth

Mr. Micheal Cayruth

Mrs. Martha R. Ealey Chandler

Mrs. Barbara Griffin Chapman

Mr. James E. Clinkscales

Mrs. Frances Rose Taylor Clinton

Mrs. Beverly Smith Clyburn

Ms. Sharon Lorraine Coakley

Mr. Ronald Coaxum

Mr. Marvin Cohen

Mr. Ludrick Cooper

Mrs. Alma Wilds Davis

Mr. Samuel C. Diggs

Mrs. Annie M. Dodd

Mrs. Janette Gee Donawald

2025 HONOREES

Mrs. Carolyn Drummond Dowtin

Ms. Toni Marcella Harris Dozier

Mr. Michael Drescher

Mrs. Jacosahia Tisdale Edmond

The Honorable Peggy A.

McFadden Elmore

Ms. Angela L. Evans

Mrs. Brenda Pyatt Ferguson

Mrs. Martha Finley

Mr. William Terry Forrest

Mrs. Gwendolyn B. Dizzley Fraiser

Mr. Ernest L. Fulton

Mrs. Elaine Evans Funderburk

Mrs. Mona L. Funderburk

Mr. Joseph A. Gadson

Ms. Jackie McFadden Garnier

Ms. Paula Gibbs

Mrs. Gloria Jean Blackmon Gordon

Ms. Lillie Edmond Graham

Mr. Karl Vincent Green

Mrs. Thelma A. Greene

Ms. Mary Francis Hannah

Ms. Elaine Rumph Harris

Mr. Marion D. Harrison

Mr. Seffton L. Hemingway

Mrs. Gwendolyn Gibson Henderson

Mr. Willie Clyde Henderson

Mrs. Brenda Warren Herrington

Ms. Rose Hill

Mrs. Fredrica P. Hilton

Mrs. Rose Marie Hinson

Mrs. Jesse Hipps

Mrs. Janice I. Hodye

Ms. Mary Coach Holmes

Mrs. Rosa Solomon Holt

Mr. Willie M. Houser

Mr. Norman Howard

Ms. Pamela Howard

Mrs. Barbara H. Hughes

Mr. Pressly Hughes

Ms. Janice Clarice Jackson

Mrs. Jennie McCants Jacobs

Mrs. Clary A. James

Rev. Frank James

Mr. Irick James

Mr. Larry James

Mr. Thomas E. James

Mrs. Ella Smith Jenkins

Mr. Tyrone Johns

Mr. J. Leroy Derrell Johnson

Mrs. Rosetta Hayes Johnson

Mrs. Sandra Johnson

Mrs. Sheila Drakeford Johnson

Mr. Donald H. Jones

Ms. Learnie R. Jones

Mr. Stanley Jones

Mrs. Lenora Blanding Kennedy

Mrs. Margaret Clyburn Lawhorn

Mrs. Olivia E. Wilson Lawson

Mrs. Bessie H. Lee

Ms. Learine R. Jones Lewers

Mrs. Alma W. Mack

Mrs. Deloris Rivers Mack

Mr. Wallace Makupson

Mr. Norman Mansell

Ms. Stella McCrae

Mrs. Linda Perry McNair

Mr. John E. Mender

Mrs. Harriet C. Miller

Mr. Shead Mills

Mrs. Evelyn Artison Moore

Mr. Joseph Moore

Dr. Marthena Grate Morant

Mrs. Lavern Blackmon Moss

Mr. Frank Munnlyn

Mr. Glenn Murray

Mr. Clyde Myers

Mr. Clark Eugene Nesbitt

Mr. Donald Nesmith

Mrs. Margie Dixon Olewunne

Mrs. Virginia Hall O'Neal

Mrs. Annie M. Perry

Mr. Reginald Phelps

Mr. Richard Pickett

Ms. Elease Portee

Mrs. Vivian Smalls Porter

Mrs. Deborah Wright Powell

Mrs. Millicent D. Pringle

Mr. Peter S. Prioleau

Mrs. Vera Benson Randall

Mrs. Mary J. Middleton Rankin

Rev. Redfern, II

Mr. Ronnie J. Reeves

Mrs. Ann Singleton Rice

Mr. John H. Richardson

Mrs. Deborah Deberry Ritter

Mr. Larry Robinson

Mrs. Bevelyn Ross

Ms. Betty Moore Ryans

Mrs. Gladys Raysor Salley

Mrs. Margaret Sanders

Ms. Joan Self

Ms. Dorothy Shirley

Ms. Effie Simmons

Mr. Joe M. Simmons

Mr. Samuel M. Simpson, Jr.

Ms. Ballery V. Skipper

Mr. Agieuary J. Smith

Dr. Carlos L. Smith

Mr. Eugene Smith

Mrs. Sandra E. Mungin Smith

Mr. Talmadge A. Smith

Mr. Isaiah Solomon

Ms. Lanette Weston Stevens

Mrs. Lou Bertha White Stewart

Mrs. Bertha L. Stocker

Mr. Robert Stokes

Mrs. Edith Corley Stone

Ms. Carolyn Woods Sumter

Mr. Robert E. Thomas

Mr. Richard Varn

Mr. Remmer Vereen

Mrs. Deborah A. Sims Walker

Mrs. Sandra K. Sharp Walker

Mrs. Claudette G. Dowling Warren

Mrs. Valerie S. Washington

Mr. Freddie Whaley

Ms. Marcella Whaley

Mr. Larry White

Mr. Lawrence White

Mrs. Barbara J. Wiggins

Mrs. Mary McCray Wiggins

Ms. Gleen Vivian Kearse Williams

Mr. Ransom C. Williams

Mrs. Rhonda Williams

Rev. Thomasine Roberts Williams

Mr. Wendell Waldo Williams

Mrs. Geraldine Ashford Wilson

Mrs. Jacqueline Sanders Wilson

Mr. Richard E. Wilson

Mr. Willie Woods

Mr. George A. Worsley

Mrs. Marietta Ascue Worthy

Ms. Zena Deas Young

Deceased

“and departing leave behind us, foot prints on the sands of time”

Mr. Howard L. Adams

Mr. Leon Ashley

Mrs. Patricia W. Brumfield

Ms. Madline Chandler

Mr. Donald Coaxum

Mr. William Edward Cobb

Mr. Melvin Crawford

Mr. Monroe Cusaac

Ms. Theresa Rogers Davis

Mrs. Vivian Stephens Davis

Mr. William L. Davis

Mrs. Beverly Thomas Dorrah

Mr. Robert Fields

Mrs. Vivian Fields

Mr. Freddie D. Foster

Mr. Solomon I. Foster, Jr.

Mrs. Francenia Davis Gadson

Dr. Richard A. Gadson

Ms. Beverly Gethers

Mr. Bezzlee Giles, Jr.

Ms. Shirley A. Hudley Gilliard

Mr. J. P. Graham

Mrs. Mattie Rutherford Harris

Mr. Eric Hunter

Mrs. Gloria W. James

Mrs. Gwendolyn G. Bennett Jamison

Dr. Beverly M. Johns

Dr. Cora Guider Johnson

Mrs. Sandra Fay Chestnut Jones

Mr. Abram J. Kennedy

Mr. John W. King, Jr.

Mrs. Gloria H. Lesane

Mrs. Jacqueline Humes Mackey

Mr. Willie Mangham

Mr. Thomas Marion

Mrs. Essie Louise McCants

Mrs. Carolyn McCullough

Ms. Sadie M. Middleton

Ms. Leitha Samuels Morgan

Mrs. Brenda Moultrie

Mr. William Murphy

Mr. Bobby James Pearson

Mr. James Rhinehart, Jr.

Mrs. Mae C. Stevens

Mr. Merriett M. Taylor, Jr.

Mr. Leonard R. Thomas

Dr. Jesse Thompson

Mr. Frank E. Williams, Jr.

Mr. Squire Wilson

Mr. L. E. Woods

Mrs. Laverne Woods

Mr. Denver Wright

Mrs. Hazel M. Wright

PREVIOUS HALF CENTURYCLUB INDUCTEES

Class of 1974

Ms. Linda Campbell

Ms. Mary L. Harmon

Mr. Edward W. Robinson

Mrs. Linda Stringer Smith

Mrs. Sandra D. Smith

Mrs. Pearl B. Thomas

Class of 1973

Mr. Michael R. Jacobs

Ms. Jacqueline Burnett Jones

Mrs. Alma Jane Mills

Class of 1972

Dr. Incentlee B. Lemon

Mrs. Elaine Dowdy Melvin

Ms. Elizabeth Wolfe

Class of 1971

Mrs. Cedelle English Gates

Dr. Malqueen Howell Richardson

Mr. Christopher Smith, Jr.

Class of 1970

Mrs. Beverly J. Byrd

Mr. Charles Morant

Class of 1969

Mrs. Lillian Crosby Brown

Mrs. Linda Morant

Class of 1968

Mrs. Doris J. Andrews

Mrs. Geraldine S. Parker

Ms. Beverly Washington

Dr. Joseph A. Watson

Class of 1966

Mrs. Jessie H. Chandler

Ms. Alexzena Irving Furgess

Mrs. Harriet M. Perkins

Mrs. Naomi Woodson Scipio

Class of 1965

Mr. James Chandler

Ms. Louise Entzminger

Class of 1964

Mr. James Edwards

Class of 1963

Mrs. Marlene Murphy McClerklin

Class of 1962

Ms. Maxine Peterson Pearson

Class of 1961

Mr. Robert Brown, Jr.

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER

O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hailed at twilight’s last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,

O say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave

LIFT EV’RY VOICE AND SING

Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song, full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song, full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

Let us march on till victory is won.

ALMA MATER

Where the Golden sunshine falls, Rustling leaves about her, Breezes whispering round her walls Stands our Alma Mater.

Students all a sturdy band,

Loud our voices ringing; Of her kindly helping hand, Of our love, we’re singing.

We’ll remember in the years Coming swiftly towards us, All the smiles, but not the tears, Alma Mater brought us.

If the path of life be dim, And the way be dreary, Alma Mater points to Him Who will guide the weary.

(CHORUS)

Alma Mater strong and true, Alma Mater ever.

Benedict, we sing to you, Faithful we forever.

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