COVER STORY
CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY:
THE WARMACK ERA by kimberlei davis
Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor- Bare.
As a star athlete with Little League and travel AAU sports, Dr. Warmack was “always chasing every type of ball, from a football to a basketball” in an effort to escape a very impoverished and challenged metropolitan urban city.
Life for a 12-year-old Dwaun growing up in East Detroit wasn’t filled with high aspirations, anticipating his freshman arrival at college or commencement celebrations after having turned his tassel.
Dr. Warmack may look like he could be a college student, but you know the saying, “Black don’t crack” and I’ll add “Beige don’t age.”
Quite frankly, he’d been told for so long that he wasn’t college material - that he started to believe it. For Dwaun Warmack there’s been stacks of doubts, splinters of frustration and boards of pain. Admittedly, Warmack says his life is now “distinctly different” and he credits his mom, who he describes as his internal motivation and his Maker. Today, Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack heads the nation’s seventh-ranked HBCU according to U.S. News and World report.
30 HBCU Times Special Fall 2019
Don’t let appearances fool you, with postdoctoral studies at Harvard School of Education, the HBCU Campaign Fund’s “Ten Most Dominant Leaders of 2018” said he’s “blessed to celebrate 21 years in higher education leadership at highly selective public and private institutions.” Dr. Warmack has held senior level positions at Bethune-Cookman University, Rhodes College, Western Carolina University and his alma mater Delta State University, just to name a few. No stranger to working in partnership with Fortune 500 companies, “in regards to philanthropy and charitable giving that has been an area of gifting,” he touts.
St. Louis is very different from Orangeburg, but Dr.Warmack believes he possesses the ability to maximize and cultivate relationships necessary to lead Claflin. When asked what his blueprint is to continue the reputable momentum that Claflin has gained, that’s where the interview stopped friends, because while Dr.Warmack wants all Historically Black Colleges and Universities to succeed, he quipped, “everyone will be using my strategies.” What he said is this, “We’re intentional about cultivating meaningful relationships that help our students get gainfully employed.” He said he looks forward to working with industries, corporations and organizations that will foster mutually benefiting dual partnerships for the outstanding scholars that Claflin serves. But all the time I’se been aclimbin on, And reachin’ landin’s, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark Where there ain’t been no light.