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 purchaseof aneighty-acre plantationnear Columbia, SouthCarolina,asthesitefora newschool 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. Duringrecent decades,thisgrowthhasincludedlandacquisition,constructionof newresidencehalls 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 BurroughsSchool ofBusinessandEntrepreneurshipisaccreditedbytheAssociationofCollegiateBusinessSchools 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 makinga positive impact in thelegal 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.
WrittenbythelateMrs.DorisWright Johnson
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
2024 HONOREES
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
O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hailed at the 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
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.
