Click here to watch the 2018 Spring Convocation live on Thursday, January 25 at 11 a.m. with guest speaker Brigadier General Twanda E. Young, '89.

Thank you for your loyalty and commitment to Claflin's noble ministry of providing a high-quality education in a Christian environment. Our coming together as Team Claflin at the beginning of each semester is just one of the many ways we try to communicate our strategic initiatives campus-wide. This allows us to be on the same page, especially as it relates to understanding our shared vision, the University's mission, value system and overall strategic direction.

 

As we endeavor to move to new levels of excellence, I believe it is also important to acknowledge our successes from the fall semester.

 

I begin with our new Strategic Plan. I am pleased to say that we have made significant progress toward the implementation of "Claflin LEADS: A Shared Vision for the 21st Century." When fully implemented, our plan will result in a new business model, a new and innovative academic master plan, a new strategic enrollment management plan and a new organizational structure. It will also result in a new and enhanced commitment to the formation and development of visionary leaders and our continuing student success initiative, a campus-wide commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, and new resources.

 

Claflin continues to draw national recognition. For the seventh consecutive year, Claflin University has earned a place among the top 10 in U.S. News and World Report's annual ranking of the nation's Top 20 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Claflin is ranked ninth by the prestigious publication in its 2018 ranking, which includes 74 HBCUs. Our alumni giving rate continues to lead and hover around 50 percent, according to U.S. News and World Report. Also significant is that our high retention and graduation rates places Claflin among the top three to five independent colleges and universities in the state.

 

It is important to note that the University has a record enrollment of more than 2,100 students at a time when most institutions are experiencing a decrease in enrollment. I should also mention that we had another year of a balanced budget and a clean audit with zero findings. On the academic side, the Board of Trustees approved a new and revitalized general education program.

 

Our campus held two notable groundbreaking events during the fall semester. The first was the groundbreaking ceremony for Claflin's new Health and Wellness Complex on September 7. Construction has since started on this dynamic, multi-purpose facility that will provide benefits for the campus community and area residents beyond the walls of the University. This new facility will be "A New Gateway" to South Carolina's oldest HBCU. The Health and Wellness Complex is a 31,000 square-foot facility that will expand and renovate the existing Jonas T. Kennedy Health and Physical Education Center. The complex also will include holistic health, nutrition, and life-long wellness education to the campus community and local residents. Additional features of this ultra-modern facility will include an auxiliary gym, fitness center, demonstration kitchen, walking track, office space, classrooms, and a farmer's market park with locally-sourced foods.

 

Just before the Christmas holiday, Claflin hosted the groundbreaking on the $4.5 million Highway 601 Project funded by the South Carolina Department of Transportation. The construction will enhance pedestrian and vehicular safety adjacent to the campus. This project will work to retain the historic nature and ambiance of the campus from Boulevard to Magnolia Streets and from Goff Avenue all the way down to Clark Street. 

 

Claflin University was included in a new landmark study commissioned by the UNCF that documents the significant economic contributions of the University as well as the nation's network of HBCUs by quantifying their impact on the economy, employment and increased earning power of their students. Key findings of the study are: 1) Claflin University generates $79 million a year in total economic impact in the community, 2) Claflin University generates 835 jobs a year in our local and regional economies, and 3) graduates of Claflin University can expect to earn $1 billion over their lifetimes, 70 percent more than they could expect to earn without a college credential.

 

There are many beyond the walls of Claflin who continue to believe that Claflin is a great institution to invest in, primarily major foundations and corporations. The foundations include the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the CrankStart Foundation, the Abney Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Just before the Christmas holiday, Claflin University received a $100,000 gift from the Abney Foundation to increase their $2 million endowed scholarship fund and a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to support the revitalization of the general education curriculum, especially in the humanities.

 

As you well know the University's sesquicentennial is approaching. To celebrate this historic achievement, I have already appointed the 150th Anniversary Planning Committee to develop events for the year-long celebration.

 

If we look back at the success that Claflin University is enjoying in the 2017-2018 academic year, we must understand the context. We can trace it back to a series of strategic plans over the past two decades. Our success today can be traced back to 1995 when I appointed a Long-Range Planning Committee and subcommittees to establish a bold and sharply focused framework for the future growth and development of the University.

 

 I believe that the success of any institution is predicated on a vision. Our shared vision for Claflin in 1995 was that "Claflin University would become recognized as a premier liberal arts institution in the southeastern region, an institution of the highest quality that demonstrates its commitment to excellence by carrying out her mission by being and doing the best she can with what she has and by continuously striving for better."

 

Looking to the future, I believe it's important to recall how we got to where we are today!  I can tell you it has been a team effort and being disciplined in following the navigational tools we agreed upon in our strategic plans over the years! 

 

Our time is now and the window of opportunity for Claflin is wide open. We need only share the vision and walk on through as One Claflin - Team Claflin. I believe and want all of us to believe that the best is yet to come, and we must know and believe that God is with us.

 

Thank you for your continuous support as we continue this great journey to excellence in all that we do. 

* These remarks were given by President Henry N. Tisdale at the Faculty and Staff Institute on January 8, 2018.

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson hosted a documentary master class on Monday, January 22 at the W.V. Middleton Fine Arts Auditorium. The class focused on his latest documentary, Tell Them We Are Rising. The documentary addresses a path of promise towards the American dream for the African American culture. It also tells the story through the eyes of those who attended HBCUs.

 

The film was inspired by Nelson's parents, Dr. Stanley Nelson, who attended Howard University and his mother, A'lelia Nelson, who attended Talladega College. "It changed their lives and it changed my life," said Nelson.

 

Following the master class, more than 400 students were in attendance at the special screening of the documentary at South Carolina State University's Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium.

 

According to Nelson, "HBCUs are as relevant today as they have ever been. For the first time ever, the story of how black colleges and universities have cultivated leaders in every field was put on displayed."

"What a powerful and credible story," said President Henry N. Tisdale at the conclusion  of the screening. Tisdale shared his academic journey with the audience letting them know that the documentary was very personal. "A lot of leadership development occurred  during these events that were shown in the documentary. It was the students at universities that helped carry the civil rights movement forward," he said. 

Tell Them We Are Rising will air on PBS on February 19. Check your local listing for airing times. 

The ELL Center District ESOL (English to Speakers of Others Languages) professional training for mainstream and ESOL teachers in Orangeburg School Districts 3, 4 and 5 will be held at Claflin University on Monday, January 29. More than 40 are expected to participate in the training  sessions. 

As the number of English learners in South Carolina continues to climb each year (43,000+ students as of 2015) there is a greater need for regular teachers to obtain training on how to address the diverse academic and linguistic needs of English learners K-12 coming from a variety of language groups. Although Spanish is the most-widely spoken home language to many of the English learners in South Carolina, there are many more students who speak Chinese, Gujarati, Vietnamese, French, Micronesian, Thai, Tagalog and other languages. Many of these students face challenges in adjusting to a new culture, a new language and a new educational system. The main goal of the ESOL classes is to provide additional services to English learners in achieving full English proficiency in order to meet the academic demands and experience success in the mainstream classroom.

 

Dr. Angela Peters, vice provost for Academic Programs; and Dr. Nan Li, ELL Center project director in the School of Education at Claflin University, will be working with the school districts and coordinating the teachers' visit for this ELL Center-District joint professional development training event.

 

ESOL teachers from the three school districts will be conducting the training workshops: Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 will be represented by Yvonne D. Mitchell, Program Coordinator and ESOL Teachers Deena Fogle, Latanza Garvin and Kimberly Farmer; Cindy Bozard and Joanne Vigen from Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4, and Samajema Davis from Orangeburg 3.

 

Teachers from different content areas such as language arts, math, science and social studies will be involved in an   interactive training that includes understanding who the English learners are, what accommodations should teachers provide in the classroom, how to implement the South Carolina ESOL standards called WIDA, and many more topics relevant to the instruction of this growing ESOL student population.