@Claflin: Claflin University Receives Grant from Duke Divinity School and more

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Claflin University Receives Grant from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School

Claflin University has been awarded a $50,000 grant by Leadership Education, a non-degree-granting initiative of Duke Divinity School, the spiritual center of Duke University, located in Durham, N.C. The funding from the grant will be used to help strengthen and build capacity for Claflin's Granville Hicks Leadership Academy for Clergy and Laity and improve the church history archives in the University's library.

The Granville Hicks Leadership Academy honors the Rev. Dr. Granville A. Hicks, a 1957 Claflin graduate who has been recognized for his leadership as a pastor and district superintendent in the South Carolina Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. Hicks was instrumental in creating programs to improve race relations, education, and leadership development at the conference.

Dr. Echol Nix Jr., program director for the grant and associate professor of philosophy and religion at Claflin, says he hopes the grant will help to enhance and improve the Leadership Academy for years to come. "We have held the Academy for many years, but we would like to strengthen it," Nix said. "With this grant, we plan to host pre-academy workshops in the four regions of South Carolina to see what pastors need and what challenges they are facing in order to recruit and spark interest for the next Academy."

The grant also will make it possible to develop webinars and digital content that would be of service to ministry leaders and their congregations beyond the luncheons and Leadership Academy. A South Carolina Churches' digital archive would be developed with the funding and housed in the H.V. Manning Library. It would include pastoral documents, sermons, recordings of worship music, and oral histories and photos of South Carolina churches.

Dr. Isaiah McGee, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr. Scott Ryan, assistant professor of religion and biblical studies; and Dr. Arlecia Simmons, assistant professor of mass communications, along with an advisory committee also assisted in securing the Leadership Education grant.

The next Granville Hicks Leadership Academy is scheduled for January 2021.

Student Profile

Thalia Butts, a senior mass communications major from Atlanta, Ga ., was featured in an article on Medium about her experience as a UX (user-experience) writing intern at Dropbox this summer. Medium is an online publishing platform. In the interview conducted by Dropbox, Butts discussed what led her to pursue an internship in UX and her expectations. " I'm most excited about really understanding where I can fit in tech as a Black HBCU student with a passion for writing and storytelling in unique ways," said Butts, who also is a member of the Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College. To read the complete interview, click here .

Alumni News

Clemmie Barnes Hatchett, '43, a high-spirited and compassionate matriarch and community activist, peacefully passed away on July 21, 2020, at her home in Atlanta, Ga. Hatchett was a trustee emerita of the Claflin University Board of Trustees and a tireless worker on behalf of the University and the Claflin University International Alumni Association.

A private graveside service, entrusted to Carl M. Williams Funeral Directors, Inc. will be attended by her children and grandchildren on Friday, July 24, at 10 a.m. EST. Click here to view the service.

Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the family requests that friends refrain from visiting, or sending flowers, gifts or food. Click here to make a donation in her memory to the Paul and Clemmie Barnes Hatchett Endowed Scholarship Fund.

In celebration of Clemmie Barnes Hatchett's legacy and to send condolences to the family, please select the link associated with the first letter of your last name and send your video wishes:

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Johnnie Smith, '08, is the new principal of Holly Hill Elementary School in Holly Hill, S.C. Previously, he spent three years as assistant principal at Edisto Primary School. Smith has also served as the director of bands for school districts in Darlington, Orangeburg, and Calhoun counties.

Brigadier General Twanda E. Young, '89 , will celebrate her retirement from the United States Army on October 2, 2020, after more than 30 years of service. Young, who also served as deputy commanding general for the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, was the first female commissioned from the Bulldog Battalion ROTC program to earn the rank of Brigadier General.

Young has served in command and staff positions in the continental United States and Hawaii with First Army, Joint Forces Command, U.S. Army Reserve Command, and in Afghanistan with NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (NTM-A/CSTC-A). Among her other key assignments were G1, U.S. Army Reserve Command; Commander, Theater Support Group- Pacific; Army Reserve Warrior Transition Liaison Program Manager; CJ1, Chief Strategic Initiatives (Kabul, Afghanistan); and Executive Training Officer, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Division.

The ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. in the United States Army Reserve Command's Marshall Hall atrium, 4710 Knox St., Fort Bragg, NC.