One Hundred Fifty-Fourth Founder's Day Convocation

The Founder’s day ConvoCaTion CommemoraTing The one hundred FIFTY-FOUR year hisTory oF BenediCT College

Thursday, the Fourteenth of March Two Thousand and Twenty-Four Eleven O'Clock in the Morning Antisdel Chapel Benedict College Columbia, South Carolina Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis President and CEO

A LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER This letter was written by Mrs. Bathsheba A. Benedict to Dr. Moorehouse, general secretary of 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.

B. A. Benedict

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BENEDICT COLLEGE Benedict College, originally Benedict Institute, was founded in 1870 under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Mrs. Bathsheba A. Benedict of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, provided financial support for the establishment of Benedict. Adding to a small bequest from her husband, Mrs. Benedict provided $13,000 towards the purchase of an eighty-acre plantation near Columbia, South Carolina, 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.”

During the first quarter century of its existence, Benedict Institute’s educational programs addressed the severely limited economic and social conditions of the Black population in the South. The Institute’s original objective was to train teachers and preachers, and its first curriculum included, 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, and 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 BEST 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!

Attorney James White, III James White, III, a native of the state of Georgia, grew up in an environment that did not suggest what he could become. In fact, he dropped out of school when he was seventeen, like most people in his family; and was incarcerated by age twenty-one, like most of his friends. While the availability of drugs and life on the streets are pathways to defeat, Mr. White turned his life around during his confinement and earned his GED as his pathways to success.

By the time Mr. White reentered society, someone told him that he needed to attend Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina because he was also informed that this college provides a second chance to those who desire it and affirms the value-added promise that its graduates become “powers for good in society.”

Mr. White enrolled in and graduated from Benedict College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2015. By the time he left Benedict College, he was a summa cum laude graduate, the president of the Student Government Association, and an Outstanding Senior in his class.

He continued his education and graduated from The Ohio State University with a law degree in 2020.

Attorney White initially gained valuable experience as a real estate closing attorney, but his burning passion was to do something about the disparities of the criminal justice system in communities of color. Attorney White made the conscious decision to transition from transactional law to become a prosecutor and has dedicated his time and efforts to assisting offenders in their applications for restoration of rights and record restrictions.

Currently, Attorney White serves as an Associate Solicitor in Fulton County, Georgia. With his unwavering dedication to justice, Attorney White is committed to making a positive impact in the legal field and to ensuring second chances for qualified individuals affected by the criminal justice system.

He is now pursuing his life’s dreams and doing for others what Benedict College and so many more -did for him.

Benedict College celebrates Attorney James White, III as one who represents TheBESTofBC!

THE FOUNDER’S DAY CONVOCATION Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis President and CEO Presiding PRELUDE: …………………………. The Klaxon March……………………………..Henry Fillmore 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 ANTHEMS: The Star-Spangled Banner ................... Francis Scott Key and John Stafford Smith Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble and College Choir Mr. H. Wade Johnson, Director of Bands Mr. Ronald T. Green, Assistant Director of Bands Mr. J. David Bratton Director of Choirs Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing ............. James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson Benedict College Choir THE OPENING REMARKS ..................................................................................Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis THE INVOCATION .....................................................................................Minister Cameron Seawright Student Campus Minister THE OCCASION ...........................................................................................................Ms. Morgan Miles Miss Benedict College 2023-2024 THE READING OF THE HISTORY OF BENEDICT COLLEGE ......................Mr. Scott E. Blanks Professor of Theater Communication and Arts Department MUSIC: …………………………………Grateful Medley…………………………..arr Ronald T. Green Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SPEAKER..……………………………………. Mr. Darious Rubin Mister Benedict College 2023-2024

THE CONVOCATION SPEAKER.................................................................Attorney James White, III Interdisciplinary Studies Major Class of 2015 Associate Solicitor Fulton County, Georgia THE RESPONSE .................................................................................................... Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis MUSIC: ………...The Eyes of All/When the Saints Medley……...…..Jean Berger and Donald Lawrence Benedict College Choir THE INDUCTION OF ALUMNI INTO THE BENEDICT COLLEGE HALF-CENTURY CLUB AND RECOGNITION OF OTHER CLASSES.................................................................................................................Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis THE FOUNDER’S DAY LITANY ............................................................................... Ms. Emmie Davis Instructor of English Communication and Arts Department THE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS................. Mrs. Leandra Hayes-Burgess Vice President for Institutional Advancement THE ALMA MATER…………………………………………………………………...…Anna Douglas Benedict College Instrumental Ensemble and Concert Choir THE BENEDICTION ...................................................................................Minister Cameron Seawright The assembly will please rise for the benediction and and thereafter be seated until the ushers conduct 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

2024 HONOREES

CLASS OF 1974 INDUCTEES

Mr. James Adams Mrs. Ruth A. Beaton Aiken Ms. Deborah Y. Allen Mr. Elvin C. Anderson Ms. Gloria Augusta Ms. Shirley J. Bacon Mr. James D. Baker Mr. Artis L. Baldwin Mrs. Jane V. Bankhead Mr. Alphonso K. Barnes, Sr. Mrs. Drusilla G. Chandler Beach Mrs. Sandra Thomas Beech Mrs. Jerry Evans Belton Mrs. Francis Bennett Ms. Christine M. Bines Mrs. Debra Blakeley Ms. Marlena J. Blanding Ms. Jeanette Bolden Mrs. Audrey B. Rhodes Boyd Ms. Earnestine Boyd Mr. Charles J. Boykin Mrs. Sandra E. Boykin Mrs. Christine Wright Bradley Mr. Dretcher Bradley Mr. Charles F. Bronson Mr. Earl L. Brooks Mrs. Jacqueline Mitchell Brooks Ms. Frances D. Broughton Ms. Ethel Rie Brown Mr. Gerald (Geech) Brown, Sr. Mr. Henry Brown Mrs. Rosa Dansby Brown Mr. Raymond Burroughs Mr. Wilbur Cade Mrs. Amanda Cain Ms. Linda Campbell Mr. Steven E. Cannon Mr. Edward L. Carter Mrs. Corinthia Simon Casey Mr. Charles A. Cherry, Jr. Mrs. Gail J. China Mrs. Lelia T. Clark Mrs. Thelma Egister Clavon Mrs. Patricia W. Clinkscales Mrs. Debra Cobb

Mr. Kenneth Cobb Ms. Rozetta Cobb Mr. Sidney Cobbs Mrs. Phyllis Rhodes Connor Mrs. Jacqueline Cooper Bishop Dr. Linwood Cooper Mr. Booker T. Counts Mr. Curtis N. Counts Ms. Emma K. Crosby Mrs. Isabella K. Crosby Mrs. Roberta Crum Ms. Ruth M. Cunningham Mrs. Mary Ann Daniels Mrs. Helen Berie Davis Mrs. Helen Deloris Smith Davis Mr. Nathaniel Davis Mrs. Patricia Y. Davis Mr. Samuel B. Davis Ms. Sandra A. Davis Mrs. Linda M. Dawson Mrs. Theopia A. Deas Mr. Harvin Dennis, Jr. Mr. Clarence W. Dill Mr. Richard Lee Dixon Mr. Timothy R. Donaldson Mr. Harold A. Dreher Mr. John Dubose Mrs. Brenda Durah Mr. Charlie Edmond, Jr. Mr. Charles Edmunds Ms. Annie R. Eison Mrs. Patricia Evans Ms. Gail D. Ferguson Mrs. Willie F. Floyd Ms. Fannie Ford Mrs. Theresa Gerald Francis Mrs. Gloria A. Frazier Mr. Oliver Freeman Mr. Freddie L. Fudge Mr. Fred F. Fulton Mrs. Francine M. Furgess Mrs. Blondell F. Gallman Mr. Hayes R. Gamble, Jr. Mrs. Theresa D. Gerald Mrs. D'Andrea B. Gilliam

Ms. Deloris Glymph Mrs. Teshine G. Good Mrs. Loretta K. Gordon Mrs. Jacqueline Wilson Gantt Dr. Audrey T. Grant Mrs. Delores Fordham Gray Ms. Diane Green Mr. Earnest Green Mr. James Green Mr. James Oliver Green Mrs. Joyce A. Green Mrs. Queenie L. Rock Green Mrs. Bobby Ann Pasley Greene Mrs. Kathy Q. Rock Greene Mrs. Deborah Abney Gripper Mr. James L. Gunby Mrs. Vera P. Hamm Ms. Sylena Grimes Hargrove Ms. Mary L. Harmon Mrs. Doreen M. Heath Mr. Andrew Hendrix Ms. Janice Hodge Mrs. Karen Howard Ms. Ernestine Fern Howell Mr. David Hudson Ms. Linda Huggins Ms. Olivetta Hughes Mrs. Lillie Bobb Hunter Mrs. Francina Inabinet Mr. Steve A. Inabinet Mr. Edward J. Irick, Jr. Mrs. Bessie A. Izzard Dr. Charles B. Jackson, Sr. Ms. Harriett A. Jackson Ms. Katie E. Jackson Ms. Roberta Jackson Ms. Dorothea D Jennings Ms. Mary Jo Mr. Andrew C. Johnson Ms. Lillie M. Copeland Johnson Mrs. Pearl F. Johnson Mrs. Gloria F. Jones Mrs. Veronica S. Jordan Mrs. Bessie Jerry Keels Mrs. Mildred M. Knightner

Mrs. Alma Kohn Mr. Phil Ladson Mrs. Harriett W. Lakin Ms. Deloris Lawrence Mr. James A. Ledbetter, Jr. Mrs. Cheryl Frazier Leysath Mr. Eddie H. Loney Mr. James M. Lorick Ms. Brenda Lunn Mr. Walter R. Mack Mr. Ray Makupson Mrs. Linda Pratt Marshall Mr. Alvin McClain Ms. Terri T. McClerklin Mr. Sam McClure Mr. Elton McCray Ms. Debra McKnight Ms. Arnold E. Middleton Ms. Gloria E. Middleton Mr. Melvin Miller Mrs. Sophia E. Miller Mr. Vannie M. L. Miller, Sr. Mr. Stanley Montgomery Mr. Al Moore Ms. Vernelle Morrant Mrs. Rhonda J. Brown Moses Mrs. Willie Mae Robinson Muldrow Mrs. Laney Murles Mr. Henry Murray Mr. Wilson Nallac Mr. Joseph Nelson Mrs. Sandra E. Outen Mrs. Christine Wilson Peguese Mrs. Evangeline Muldrow Petress Ms. Annis D. Platt Mrs. Patsy Mungin Polite Mrs. Mary Porterfield Mr. Lewis Edward Pressley Mr. W. Curtis Pressley Mrs. Janie Carter Pringle Ms. Gail C. Proctor Mr. Fred L. Pryor Ms. Bonnie J. Ragin-White Ms. Thelma Ravenell Mr. Reginald A. Rearden Mrs. Deborah Rhames Mr. Curtis Rice Mr. John H. Rice Mrs. Donzella Matthews Richardson Mrs. Minnie O. Legons Richardson Mr. Samuel Ritter Mrs. DeLanda V. Robinson Mr. Edward W. Robinson Mrs. Doris M. Ruff

Dr. Alexander Russell, Jr. Mrs. Mary Toney Scarborough Mrs. Debra R. Scott Mrs. Pearl T. Sears Ms. Diann Selph Ms. Debra Session Mr. Maxwell Sewell Ms. Celestine O'berry Shaheed-Ali Mrs. Cherrie A. Shepard Mr. Julius L. Simmons Ms. Patricia Henley Simmons Mrs. Patricia D. Sims Mrs. Deborah C. Singleton Mrs. Linda Stringer Smith Dr. Patricia A. Smith Mr. Roosevelt Smith Mrs. Sandra D. Smith Ms. Verlean Smith Mrs. Helen Snipes Ms. Carrie L. Staley Ms. Tonya D. Stevenson Mr. Alton A. Taylor Rev. James H. Taylor Mrs. Shirley A. Taylor Mrs. Vernita P. Taylor Mrs. Claudelle O. Thomas Mr. Fred J. Thomas Mr. Leon E. Thomas Mrs. Pearl B. Thomas Rev. Anthony B. Thompson Rev. William Wallace Thompson Mr. Norman H. Toliver Ms. Claudette A. Toney Ms. Jacquelyn L. Tucker Ms. Enell Turner Ms. Rozetta Utsey Ms. Mary C. Vance Ms. Brenda K. Durrah Vinson Ms. Roxanne Polite Wall Mr. Herman J. Wallace Mr. Bernard W. Washington Mr. John G. Washington Ms. Vivian A. Washington Mrs. Dorothy E. Watts Mrs. Mary E. Watts Mr. Edsel C. Webb, Jr. Mr. John A. Welbeck Mrs. Jeanie Weston Mrs. Mary A. Weston Mrs. Gwendolyn Y. Reddick White Mrs. Gayle Whitmer Ms. Gail C Whitmire Rev. Arnold Williams Mr. Arnold Louis Williams

Ms. Patricia Williams Ms. Thelma Williams Mrs. Carrie Y. Wilson Mr. Ralph J. Wilson Ms. Verlean Wilson Mr. Albert E. Wise Ms. Laura A. York Mrs. Brenda Young Mrs. Lauretta H. Young Deceased “and departing leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.”

Mr. Charles R. Belton Mr. Henry Benjamin Mr. Russell Browing Mr. Melvyn Cooper Mr. Marion F. Donnelly Mr. Robert Foulks Mr. Ronald Frierson Mrs. June Ducker Gaines Mr. Arthur R. Gilchrist Mrs. Mary Ann Gregg Mr. Clinton S. Grier Mr. Emerson J. Hazzard, Sr. Mr. Paul Hughes Mrs. Lila Dianne Hunter Mr. William John Ms. Sharon A. Johnson Ms. Loretta Lyles Mrs. Patricia Massie Mr. Calvin G. Mayes Ms. Bobbie J. McCall Mr. Ronald D. McKissick Mrs. Myrtle B. Mims Mr. James Peguese Mrs. Emma L. Pitts Ms. Jeffery Portee Ms. Vermell E. Powell Rev. J. L. Robinson Mr. Willie J. Rumph Mr. Timothy Sullivan Mrs. Berneta Thames Ms. Gladys Deneal Tillman Mrs. Betty J. Walker Mr. David J. Wall Mr. Wilson Wallace Mrs. Thelma Weaver Mrs. Brenda Moore Webb

Previous Half Century Club Inductees Class of 1973 Rev. Dr. Leon D. Dizzley Mr. Michael R. Jacobs Mrs. Alma Mills Class of 1971 Ms. Julia Kathleen Ford Bell Mrs. Cedelle English Gates Mr. Walter L. Good

Dr. Malqueen Howell Richardson Class of 1969 Mrs. Bernetha Phillips Henry Mrs. Marilyn W. Irick Class of 1968 Mrs. Doris J. Andrews Mrs. Geraldine S. Parker Ms. Beverly Washington Class of 1966 Mrs. Naomi Woodson Scipio Class of 1965 Ms. Louise Entzminger Class of 1963 Mrs. Marlene Murphy McClerklin Class of 1962 Ms. Maxine Peterson Pearson

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER

ALMA MATER

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

Where the Golden sunshine falls,

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

Rustling leaves about her,

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

Breezes whispering round her walls

O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly

Stands our Alma Mater.

streaming?

Students all a sturdy band, And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Loud our voices ringing;

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

Of her kindly helping hand,

O say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave

Of our love, we’re singing.

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

We’ll remember in the years LIFT EV’RY VOICE AND SING Lift ev’ry voice and sing,

Coming swiftly towards us, All the smiles, but not the tears, Alma Mater brought us.

Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of liberty;

If the path of life be dim,

Let our rejoicing rise,

And the way be dreary,

High as the listening skies,

Alma Mater points to Him

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Who will guide the weary.

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

(CHORUS)

Sing a song, full of the hope that the present has brought us;

Alma Mater strong and true,

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

Alma Mater ever.

Let us march on till victory is won.

Benedict, we sing to you, Faithful we forever.