April 29 - May 3, 2013 SACS President, Dr. Belle S. Wheelan to Address Graduates During SC State University s Spring Commencement By Antia L. Dawkins Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS) president, Dr. Belle S. Wheelan will address SC State University s graduating class of 2013 during the institution s commencement ceremony on Friday, May 10, 2013 at 7 p.m. in the Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, located on the campus of SC State University. Wheelan is the first African-American and the first woman to serve as president of SACS. Her career spans over 30 years Belle S. Wheelan, Ph. D. and includes the roles of faculty member, chief student services officer, campus provost, college president and secretary of education. In several of those roles, she was the first African-American and/or woman to serve in those capacities. In 1972, Wheelan received a bachelor s degree with a double major in Psychology and Sociology from Trinity University located in Texas. She received a master s degree in Developmental Educational Psychology from Louisiana State University in 1974; and a doctoral degree in Educational Administration with a special concentration in community college leadership from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984. She has received numerous awards and recognitions including four honorary degrees; the Distinguished Graduate Award from Trinity University (2002), and from the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin (1992); Washingtonian Magazine s 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, DC (2001); the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Woman of Distinction Award (2002); the Suanne Davis Roueche National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development s Distinguished Lecturer Award (2007); the John E. Roueche National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development s International Leadership Award (2010); and the America Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Leadership Award (2011). She holds and has held membership in numerous local, state and national organizations including Rotary International; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; the American College Testing, Inc., board of directors; AACC s board of directors; the Lumina Foundation for Education, board of directors; and the President s Round Table of the National Council on Black American Affairs. Wheelan attributes her success to hard work, endurance, tenacity, and being in the right place at the right time. She recognizes that prayer and support from family and friends make anything possible. Wheelan is the mother of an adult son, Reginald. For additional information on the upcoming commencement contact, Antia L. Dawkins, public relations specialist in the Office of University Relations and Marketing, at (803) 533-3713. New Beginnings You did it! Congratulations! You finally accomplished your first step to success, graduating from our prestigious SC State University. At SC State University, we know that there are many exciting experiences you ve gained while walking the classic groves and halls of the University. If you have a unique story that you would like to share with your peers and stakeholders of the University, the Office of University Relations and Marketing would like to hear from you? Are you graduating with an immediate family member? Did you maintain a 4.0 GPA throughout your tenure at the University? Was there an event that occurred in your life, where you thought that you were not going to be able to accomplish your dream, but you did? Is there a legacy of SC State University graduates in your family? If so, contact Antia L. Dawkins, Public Relations Specialist at (803) 533-3713 or adawkins@scsu.edu. Congratulations, Class of 2013 on all of your future endeavors! In This Issue: 2013 Spring Commissioning Ceremony Page 2 SC State s Board of Visitors Meet Page 3 S.C. State s New President Brings Family Lessons to University Page 4 If you or someone you know would like to be added to the e-newsletter mailing list, please contact Antia L. Dawkins at adawkins@scsu.edu.
Page 2 Brigadier General Bryan T. Roberts to Inspire and Motivate The Army s Newest Lieutenants during 2013 Spring Commissioning Ceremony ROTC Spring Commissioning Ceremony Thursday, May 9, 2013 3 p.m. Dr. Barbara A. Vaughan Fine Arts Recital Hall SC State University Army ROTC Program is renowned for producing officers that serve our nation honorably and with distinction. The SC State University Army ROTC Program is comprised of cadets from SC State, Voorhees College and Claflin University. To date, the Bulldog Battalion has produced more than 2000 officers, to include 16 general officers that have served in each branch of the Armed Forces. On Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 3 p.m. in the Dr. Barbara A. Vaughan Fine Arts Recital Hall located on the campus of SC State University, seven cadets will join the ranks of many who have matriculated through the Bulldog Battalion and received commissions as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to be a part of the historic legacy of the Bulldog Battalion Army ROTC Program. Cadets that are commissioned through the SC State University Army ROTC program have successfully completed both university requirements to graduate and all of the requirements established by the U.S. Army Cadet Command to be commissioned as a second lieutenant. Brig. Gen. Bryan T. Roberts, commanding general for the U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Jackson, will serve as the speaker for the 2013 spring commissioning ceremony. The Hampton, Va. native assumed command of Fort Jackson on April 20, 2012. He has served the U.S. Army for nearly 29 years in a variety of command and staff positions in the United States, Germany, Bosnia and Iraq. In August 1983, Brig. Gen. Roberts was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Armor Branch (US Army) as well as a distinguished military graduate of Eastern Michigan University, located in Ypsilanti, Mich. Prior to taking command of South Carolina base Fort Jackson, he served in Operation New Dawn in Iraq as the director of the Iraq Training and Advisory Team Army and Chief of Staff, Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq. His other assignments includes; Fort Carson, Colorado; Schweinfurt, Germany; Bosnia for Operation Joint Endeavor; Washington, DC; Fort Hood, TX; New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina Relief Operations; Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn, and Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky. His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge and the Ranger Tab. He holds a bachelor s degree in Commercial Marketing and Merchandising from Eastern Michigan University and master s degrees in Administration from Central Michigan University located in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. and the National Security Strategy and Strategic Studies from the National War College. Brig. Gen. Roberts is the 45th commanding general in Fort Jackson s 95-year history. He and his wife, Cassandra, have two sons and one daughter. For additional information about the 2013 spring commissioning ceremony, contact Lt. Col. Derrick Corbett, Professor of Military Science at (803)536-8878. Brigadier General Bryan T. Roberts Commanding General, U..S Army Training Center and Fort Jackson
Page 3 SC State s Board of Visitors Meet By Antia Dawkins On Friday, April 26, 2013, SC State University s Board of Visitors (BOV) met on the campus of SC State University to discuss the direction of the University. The BOV bylaws state that they are to meet three times annually and at other times as called by the chair of the BOV after consultation with the chair of the Board of Trustees and president of the University. SC State s BOV shall act as advocates of the University. They shall serve as an advisory body to the SC State University Board of Trustees and assist the board and the president in the overall advancement and image of the University. SC State University s BOV is currently has 24 of its 31 seats filled. BOV candidates may reside outside the state of South Carolina. The South Carolina State University Board of Trustees shall approve all nominees by simple majority vote of its seated members. SC State University s BOV include the following alumni and business partners: Jameel Allen, Dr. Benetta Gadegbeku Bell, chair, Mr. Redick Brown, Guss Bodison, Corey O. Bowdre, Gary Carroway, vice- chair, Lt. Col. Alexander Conyers, Lauren Dawkins, Cedric D. Dukes, Heyward Golden, Rev. Charles B. Jackson, Jr., Col. (Ret.) Roger Leaks, Jr., Dr. Harold McClain. The Board of Visitors also include Beverly Joan Perkins, Michael G. Phillips, CIA, Jean Brown Pinkston, Stephanie Price, Demar Lamont Roberts, Rudolph Simmons, Col. (Ret.) Richard Singleton, Michael Todd Smith, Kendra Speed, secretary of the Board of Visitors and Dr. Walter L. Walters. Mr. Vernon L. Pryor will join the board on July 1, 2013. SC State University Commencement Friday, May 10, 2013 7 p.m. Oliver C. Dawson Stadium
Page 4 ELZEY: I LIKE CHALLENGES S.C. State s new president brings family lessons to university By DALE LINDER-ALTMAN, Times and Democrat Staff Writer Thomas J. Elzey says he plans to build on South Carolina State University s strengths after he becomes president on June 15. South Carolina State University s incoming president says his grandparents brought him up to serve people and to rise to meet the challenges of life. He ll bring those values with him when arrives on campus June 15. Thomas J. Elzey was born in Arkansas, but reared in Chicago by his grandparents, who moved there because of the availability of jobs, he said. The philosophy he lives by is that there is no substitute for integrity and honesty, Elzey said. I have been fortunate to have had guides since early childhood in my grandparents, through mentors I have had over the years. Elzey says he learned the concepts of service and excellence in education from his grandfather. My grandfather... was first and foremost a Christian. He lived it, no questions about it my grandmother also, Elzey said. His grandfather served the community and instilled that value in him as a teenager, Elzey said. I would often find myself in situations where I was volunteered to go cut Mrs. Johnson s grass or shovel Mrs. Williams snow. I would say Why? and my grandfather would say, Because that s what you should learn to do, Elzey said. Elzey says he didn t quite see it that way as a teenager. But the concept and the practice became a part of him and he lives by it today. There were a lot of lessons he taught me that I didn t see initially, he said. His grandparents also had the philosophy that nothing less than excellence was acceptable in his education. When he was in middle school, he worked on a lot of science projects. If he didn t do the job well, his grandfather would say, No, no, no. That s not acceptable. If you re going to do something, do it right just do it right. Mentors at school picked up where his grandfather left off, Elzey said. His gift for mathematics showed up early in elementary school and his teachers gave him more difficult work than the other students had. At one point, he was given a different, more difficult math book and he was placed in honors classes throughout high school. When it was time to choose a college, Elzey s love of being challenged kicked in. He decided to attend Bradley University because it was presented to me as a challenge it was hard. I like challenges. The same thing happened when he moved on from Bradley to graduate school. Elzey decided to go to Carnegie Mellon University because he saw it as a challenge. One of his professors told him that it was too hard, Elzey said. Almost every course was related to mathematics, the professor said. His career has included serving as general manager and chief executive officer of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, senior vice president of Howard University and senior vice president of Drexel University. Elzey is currently the executive vice president for finance at The Citadel. When Elzey took on the task of bailing Howard University Hospital out of bankruptcy, it was because it was a challenge, he said. With the help of his staff, Elzey looked at the root of Howard s financial problem, put together a plan and invested money to provide state-of-the-art equipment and resources to build up the hospital s departments. We turned that hospital around, he said. We came up with a plan and we fixed the problem. He said his love of a challenge is bringing him to South Carolina State University. Running hand in hand with his determination to overcome the challenges at S.C. State is an optimism born of the faith he learned from his grandfather, Elzey said. My faith underlies my optimism and my belief that there is no problem too tough there is no issue that ll be insurmountable, he said. I have faith that I will make a difference at South Carolina State University. According to Elzey, there is a cloud over the university and one of his goals is to remove that cloud. My responsibility is to take steps to see that the university is viewed in the best possible light, he said. He wants to focus on S.C. State s positive academic excellence and the achievements of students and faculty. Elzey says his approach in handling the university s deficit will be different from those used in the past. Dealing with a deficit is like cleaning the clutter out of a room, he said. You can pick up the clutter and pile it in a corner, he said. You ve straightened the room, but the clutter s still there. SC State President Elect, Thomas J. Elzey Or you can take some things out of it, rearrange some things and make room for others, he said. He will look at the university s finances and determine if it is handling funds as efficiently as possible. This is more than looking at a deficit, Elzey said. He will also do assessments to determine what resources the university needs in every area to move forward. The university has a number of strengths he plans to build on, Elzey said. There are a number of areas, he said. I don t know them all, but I m planning to help build on those successes. Elzey noted that he s spent little time on campus so far, but he s aware of the excellence of the university s wind ensemble, the speech pathology department and the nuclear engineering department, which is the only one at a Historically Black College or University in the United States. Elzey also says he plans to meet with local political leaders to talk about how the university can partner with the community. Successful universities all have good working relationships with local government and communities, he said. In addition to financial issues, Elzey faces the challenge of working with a divided board of trustees and a revolving door that has brought in 10 individuals who served as interim, acting or permanent president since 1991, including Elzey. Elzey says he intends to build a relationship with each and every member of the board on a personal basis. In working with the board, we will be respectful of their role, he said. I will ask the board to work with me, each and every one, to help with fund-raising. Elzey s wife Monedia is a psychotherapist who specializes in family and couples counseling. She does not have a practice at this time, and the Elzeys plan to move to Orangeburg. They have two grown daughters who live in Philadelphia.
Page 5 2013 Financial Literacy Conference Upcoming EVENTS Tuesday, May 7, 2013 Bulldog Tennis Team Salute and Send Off 11 a.m. The Presidents STATE Room Thursday, May 9, 2013 Army ROTC Spring Commissioning Ceremony 3 p.m. Dr. Barbara A. Vaughan Fine Arts Recital Hall Friday, May 10, 2013 Spring Commencement 7 p.m. Oliver C. Dawson Stadium is produced by: The Office of University Relations and Marketing P.O. Box 8124, 300 College Street, NE Ko W. G. Donma Administration Building Orangeburg, SC 29117 Michael A. Hubbard Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement Carl A see Project Manager/WSSB General Manager Rolondo Davis Graphic Artist II Antia Dawkins Public Informations Specialist