@Claflin: Claflin Receives 20 Million Gift, Claflin/SCDC Partnership and more

December 18, 2020

The World Needs Visionaries

Click here for a holiday message from President Dwaun J. Warmack.

Claflin University has received a game-changing $20 million investment, the largest in school history, from philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott. The gift will accelerate Claflin’s mission to develop visionary leaders that advance social change regionally, nationally and globally.

The historic donation will be used to bolster Claflin’s teaching and learning; expand access to scholarships; increase the endowment to foster long-term sustainability; and support workforce and economic development throughout the Orangeburg community. As the campus lays the foundation for a capital campaign to drive infrastructure improvements, including a state-of-the-art student center, this gift will be a cornerstone in building a cutting-edge living and learning community.

“We are grateful to Ms. Scott for her generous recognition of Claflin’s exemplary leadership and record of innovation in producing stellar academic outcomes,” said Claflin University President Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack. “This gift will have an immediate, transformational impact, not only on the university but on the greater Orangeburg, South Carolina community and the state. We are also inspired by the long-term impact it will have in preparing students to champion and shape the nation and world we all need – one that is more just, fair and equitable.”

Founded in 1869, Claflin University was the first HBCU established in the state of South Carolina and was the first institution of higher education in the state to admit all students regardless of gender, ethnic origin, race, or religion. Located in Orangeburg, 50 miles southeast of Columbia, the state capital, Claflin University’s rigorous, student-focused academic programs and top-tier faculty have earned it a Top 10 HBCU ranking in U.S. News & World Report for 10 consecutive years. It is also ranked a Best National Liberal Arts Institution and is No. 1 among HBCUs for annual alumni giving at approximately 40%, which is more than six times the national average.

Claflin University’s legacy of excellence has produced a number of distinguished academic scholarship recipients, including a J. William Fulbright Scholar, a General George C. Marshall Scholar, a Harry S.Truman Scholar and, in 2019, a Luard Morse Scholar.

The gift to Claflin is part of a larger $4.2 billion gift to 384 mission-driven institutions selected because of their “strong leadership teams and results,” according to Scott’s announcement via Medium.

Claflin University and SCDC to Offer Bachelor’s Degree Programs to Incarcerated Individuals through Historic Partnership

Individuals incarcerated in S.C. Department of Corrections facilities will soon be able to receive bachelor’s degrees at no cost through a historic partnership with Claflin University.

In April 2020, Claflin University was selected as a U.S. Department of Education Second Chance Pell Experimental Site, which continues an initiative that began under President Barack Obama to help incarcerated individuals earn university credentials. Healthy Routines, a Columbia-based community non-profit, is also participating in the program that will offer educational programming to incarcerated students.

“Claflin’s Pathway from Prison Program, Second Chance Pell Grant, and our Center for Social Justice all reflect Claflin’s deep and abiding commitment to expanding access to exceptional educational opportunities that can change the trajectory of people’s lives,” said Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack, president of Claflin University. “It’s in our DNA. Claflin was founded as the first HBCU in South Carolina and the first institution of higher education in the state that welcomed all students regardless of ethnic origin, gender, race, or religion. A quality education is the gateway to empowerment and plays a critical role in the successful reentry of formerly incarcerated people into their respective communities.”

Claflin plans to launch the program in early 2021 and the SCDC has already started the application process.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our inmates to better themselves and receive an education,” SCDC Director Bryan Stirling said. “Our goal is to return citizens to the community with skills to succeed, and a college degree can put them on that path. We appreciate this important partnership. This program will give inmates the opportunity to leave prison with a college degree, something that can transform not only their life but the lives of their family members as well.”

Dr. Belinda Wheeler said that Claflin is delighted to be a part of this historic agreement. Wheeler is director of Claflin Pathways from Prison Program and the Center for Social Justice. She is also an associate professor of English.

“Claflin looks forward to working with SCDC and Healthy Routines to provide South Carolina’s incarcerated population with transformational credentials that will help them on their own journey,” Wheeler said.

Claflin will offer three different bachelor’s degree programs through its Center for Professional and Continuing Studies: Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management. Students also will be able to obtain minor and certificate credentials.

“Receiving a degree not only changes the inmate’s life – it can change the lives of entire families,” said Nena Staley, SCDC’s Deputy Director of Programs, Reentry and Rehabilitative Services. “We look forward to seeing many successful family stories as part of this program.”

Healthy Routines has previously provided non-credit programming to incarcerated individuals in certain SCDC sites through its Mind Plug Academy. As part of this partnership, Healthy Routines will offer non-credit college preparation courses for incarcerated individuals.

Jay Holder, director of public affairs at Healthy Routines and national executive Council at Columbia University’s Center for Justice, can speak firsthand to the power of education in prison as a formerly incarcerated scholar.

“I took advantage of school while inside and I’m in school right now,” Holder said. “In less than 20 months after being released, I was able to use the college in prison experience to not only establish new pathways to the university for currently incarcerated people, the returning citizen, and myself – I have also been able to use education to build meaningful relationships with conglomerates who are making a clear effort to improve our communities. Education is real. It takes you places you never knew you could go. The university is the cornerstone to both mobility and public safety.”

For more information about Claflin’s Pathways from Prison Program please contact Dr. Belinda Wheeler at bwheeler@claflin.edu or (803) 535-5717.

Faculty News - Cameo Green, DNP, FNP, APRN, FNP-C, an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Nursing, was recognized with an award in the healthcare category of Integrated Media Publishing's South Carolina Women in Business. Dr. Green is also a doctoral-prepared nurse practitioner specializing in behavioral health and psychiatry at The Regional Medical Center's Behavioral Health Center in Orangeburg. As a winner, Dr. Green was featured in several periodicals including Columbia Business Monthly, Greenville Business Monthly and Charleston Business Monthly. Integrated Media Publishing honored the awardees with a virtual award ceremony this past November.

Student Spotlight - Congratulations to Thalia Butts, a mass communications major, who has been elected to serve as state facilitator for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. As state facilitator, Butts directly serves all collegiate chapters of the sorority in South Carolina and assists the state coordinator, regional representative, and regional director in supporting all chapters of the South Atlantic Region (South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Bermuda) in achieving excellence in member development and public service. Butts is a presidential scholar, a member of the Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College, and internal audit chair of Gamma Chi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Alumni News - Nadine Thomas, '18, was featured on a YouTube show titled Africana Presents Afriscope last month. On the episode, Thomas promoted her book Born to Fight. Thomas’s memoir offers a taste of what it is like growing up in a poverty-stricken, abusive home in rural Jamaica. The story merges humor, determination, and fearlessness and reminds you that “you cannot prevent where you are coming from, but you can control where you are going.” During her time at Claflin, Thomas was selected as a 2017 South Carolina Speech and Drama triathlon winner. Thomas is currently a Ph.D. candidate at North Carolina Central University. Click here to watch the episode.

Save the Date for 27th Presidential Scholarship Gala

The 27^th Presidential Scholarship Gala will be held virtually on Friday, February 19, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. Proceeds from the Gala benefit Claflin University Presidential Scholars. Stay tuned for more information.