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The story
It was originally named Claflin College and was founded in 1869 by Alonzo Webster, a minister for the Methodist Episcopal Church (today the United Methodist Church). Claflin College opened its doors on October 27, 1869.
Webster came from Vermont to South Carolina as a missionary to teach at the Baker Bible Institute in Charleston, a training school for African American ministers. The Baker Biblical Institute in Charleston, was an institution established by the South Carolina Mission Conference of 1866 of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the education of African American ministers. In 1870, the Baker Biblical Institute merged with Claflin University.
Webster had received a charter from the state of South Carolina to establish a college freed slaves to take their rightful places as full American citizens. Claflin University is the oldest historically black college or university in South Carolina and touts itself as the first college in the state to welcome all students regardless of race or gender. It was the first Black college to offer architectural drawing courses.
The institution was named after two Methodist churchmen: Massachusetts Governor William Claflin and his father, Boston philanthropist Lee Claflin, who provided a large part of the funds to purchase the 43-acre (17 ha) campus. Claflin's first president was Alonzo Webster, who had previously spent time as a member of Claflin's board of trustees. Since the administration of Webster, Claflin has been served by eight presidents.
An act by the South Carolina General Assembly on March 12, 1872, designated the South Carolina State Agricultural and Mechanical Institute as a part of Claflin University. In 1896 the S.C. General Assembly passed an act of separation which severed the State Agricultural and Mechanical Institute from Claflin University and established a separate institution which eventually became South Carolina State University.
In 2020, American novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $20 million to Claflin University. Her donation is the largest single gift in Claflin's history.
Presidents
Presidents of Claflin have included:
Alonzo Webster (1869–1872)
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Edward Cooke (1872–1884)
Lewis M. Dunton (1884–1922)
Joseph B. Randolph (1922–1944)
John J. Seabrook (1945–1955)
Hubert V. Manning (1956–1984)
Oscar A. Rogers (1984–1994)
Henry N. Tisdale (1994–2019)
Dwaun Warmack (2019–present)
From Wikipedia’s article on Claflin University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5