TheBESTofBC Highlights

Tigers Win Back-To-Back SIAC Championships With 47-10 Victory Over Albany State

The sixth-ranked Benedict College Tigers won their second straight SIAC Football Championship with a dominating 47-10 victory over Albany State University on Saturday, securing their second straight 11-0 season.

The Benedict defense held the Golden Rams to a season-low 193 yards of total offense, while the Tigers racked up a season-high 563 yards of offense.

Quarterback Aeneas Dennis threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for a season-high 95 yards and a touchdown, scoring on a 72-yard run in the third quarter. The Tigers rushed for a season-high 251 yards on the ground, as backup quarterback Zavien Foster scored on a 75-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Benedict's nation-best defense also put on a show, holding the Golden Rams to zero yards passing in the first half, and Jayden Broughton had a third-quarter strip sack that Loobert Denelus recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Benedict sacked three different Albany State quarterbacks eight times for -43 yards.

Benedict started slow, with Tom Piccirillo getting the Tigers on the scoreboard with a 25-yard field goal midway through the first quarter. The Tigers then struck with a pair of big pass plays, as Dennis hit Caden High for a 28-yard score, and Reginald Harden for a 55-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 17-0.

Dr. Walter Kimbrough Delivers

the Fall Convocation Address

Benedict College kicked off the 154th academic year with the 2023 Fall Convocation. The celebratory event was held Thursday, August 24, 2023, at 11 a.m. in Antisdel Chapel. The Convocation keynote speaker was Dr. Walter Kimbrough, the former President of Dillard University and Philander Smith University.

Fall Convocation is a college community-building celebration that provided members of the administration, faculty, and staff an opportunity to officially welcome Benedict’s new and returning students. It was also a time to celebrate and recognize the academic accomplishments and achievements of the College’s high-achieving students. Dr. Artis is pictured with the President’s Trophy winners, students who achieved an average of 4.00 for both semesters during the academic year.

Benedict College receives the Federal Trademark of the popular hashtag that has come to define the 152-year-old private HBCU

Benedict College Welcomes the Class of 2027!

Benedict College Commits to Campus Modernizations

Benedict College has reinforced the college’s continued commitment to students and the community via campus improvements to support higher education opportunities. The initiative commenced with construction in spring 2023 and is part of a larger initiative to transform Benedict’s campus.

With the support of Siemens, a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare, and MD Energy Advisors, a commercial, utility, and financing energy solutions company, the college’s plans have become a reality. The three organizations initiated a collaborative effort in December 2021 to outline a path forward to reinforce Benedict’s commitment to providing transformative learning experiences characterized by high-quality academic, co-curricular, and extra-curricular programming, intentionally designed to develop superior cultural and professional competencies for a diverse student body.

Benedict College Environmental Health Science Program Earns Full Reaccreditation

Pictured above: (L-R) Commander Jason Lewis, Commissioned Corps of the U. S. Public Health Services; Dr. Anne Marie Zimeri, Associate Professor and B.S. Program Director of Environmental Health Science, University of Georgia; Dr. Milton Morris, Environmental Health Science Program Director; Dr. Robert Garner, Dean of the School of Science and Engineering; Dr. Janeen Witty, Vice President of Academic Affairs, President Roslyn Clark Artis, and Dr. Dave Gilkey, Site Visit Team Leader, Associate Professor, Department of Safety, Health, and Industrial Hygiene, Schol of Mines and Engineering, Montana Technological University.

Benedict College was awarded full reaccreditation for its Environmental Health Science (EHS) Program for a term of six years. The Council found that Benedict College EHS program to be a solid undergraduate environmental health academic program that graduates alumni well-prepared in the principles and practices of environmental health.  EHAC will conduct its next evaluation of the program in 2029.

Benedict College Named in $15 Million State-Funded Initiative for Quantum Computing

Benedict College is proud to announce that it will participate in a state-funded initiative to position South Carolina as a destination for quantum education, research, and commercialization. Quantum computing is a multidisciplinary field comprising aspects of computer science, physics, and mathematics that utilizes quantum mechanics to solve complex problems faster than classical computers.

Savannah River Mission Completion Presents a $10,000 Check to Support STEM Scholarships at Benedict College

Savannah River Mission Completion President and Program Manager Dave Olson, left, presents a $10,000 check for STEM scholarships to Benedict College. With Dr. Olson are, from left, SRMC employee and Benedict College graduate Omari Hendrix, Benedict College Dean of the School of Science and Engineering Robert Garner, and Benedict College President and CEO Roslyn Clark Artis.

The investment from the Savannah River Completion will create scholarships that can help students enroll or continue in STEM work. The donation is part of a larger Memorandum of Understanding SRMC signed with BC in October.

SRMC President and Program Manager Dave Olson is confident that the donation can go a long way toward creating a greater STEM-related employment pipeline for SRS. “STEM hires at Savannah River Mission Completion are in high demand because of the work we perform and the mission we have at the Savannah River Site,” Olson said. “There is always a need for top talent with STEM backgrounds, which is why it is important to invest in our educational institutions.”

Benedict College President and CEO Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis was pleased to learn that SRMC chose to partner with the College and provide needed funds. “We are grateful for SRMC’s investment in Benedict College and our students,” Dr. Clark Artis said. “SRMC’s donation for STEM studies will increase students’ interest in existing and future BC students by providing valuable resources that we can offer students in need of financial assistance as they pursue their dreams.”

SRMC comprises parent company BWX Technologies, Inc. with partners Amentum and Fluor. Its team brings the capabilities necessary to accelerate cleanup at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site through safe nuclear operations, optimized and integrated mission execution, and strong corporate governance.

$3 million awarded to preserve historic

Black colleges and universities in SC

Three million dollars will be split amongst three schools to preserve and revitalize Historic Black Colleges and Universities in South Carolina.

Rep. Jim Clyburn announced the millions will fund four historic structure repair projects on Tuesday.

South Carolina State University, Allen University and Benedict College are the three colleges set to receive $3 million in the Palmetto State. The National Park Service awarded $9.7 million for a total of 14 projects across 10 states as a part of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grant Program. The Palmetto State received 30% of the total funding and was the only state to receive funding for multiple projects.

Benedict College to Receive a Portion of $10.35 Million from the Historic Fund, a New Capital Venture Fund

The Historic Fund, a new venture capital fund, recently announced Benedict College as one of its 10 HBCU partners to be supported by an inaugural $10.35 million fund. The investment will support the growth of the endowments at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). 

“We are thankful for the opportunity to increase the college’s endowment while cultivating connectivity between our sister HBCUs,” said, Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, President and CEO of Benedict College. “This innovative partnership will further secure Benedict College’s future as the Historic Fund leverages its position at the intersection of HBCUs and venture capital communities.” 



“We are grateful for our collaboration with the Historic Fund because our mission is to close the wealth gap in America through the lens of education. The endowments of HBCUs are significantly lower than that of other universities that may not have faced similar historical biases,” said Mr. Mark Brown, Executive Director of the Student Freedom Initiative. “We added up the endowments of 70 percent of the HBCUs and still did not have a total greater than the smallest endowment of our nation’s Ivy League schools. We know there are systemic reasons for this wealth gap, and the Historic Fund is aptly named and focused on helping bridge this gap.” 

The BEST of BC Faculty and Staff

What Impact Could Affirmative Action Ruling Have on S.C.'s 8 HBCUs?

Landmark ruling from the US Supreme Court to strike down affirmative action will significantly shake up the admissions processes for colleges and universities nationwide. Some believe it could have further impacts on historically Black colleges and universities, HBCUs, specifically.

Barely 24 hours out from the affirmative action ruling coming down, it’s still too soon to know precisely how the decision could impact South Carolina’s eight HBCUs. “There are just so many things that could potentially come out of this, so we’re going to see how it all pans out, but as a result of this ruling, it’s definitely going to make a lot of changes and put a lot of demand on all of us,” Dr. Ebony Green, a constitutional law professor at Benedict College in Columbia, said.

The gifted songwriter of the Platinum Gospel Hit “Every Praise” J. David Bratton brings his talents back home to his Alma Mater

Koon has held multiple positions at the College during his tenure, including Residential Life Coordinator, Area Coordinator, Assistant Director for Residential Life, Director of Residential Life, Dean of Students, and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs.

Benedict College students are getting the chance of a lifetime. Their professor, Sanford Greene is an illustrator from Marvel comics and has helped them to create their own graphic novel. Greene has also worked on Black Panther, the latest Spiderman and other comic series.

“Primarily it falls under college and the life of college students but there is a lot of things that are fantasy and sci-fi and there’s a bit of horror in there too,” says Elia Allen, Benedict College senior. Elia Allen is talking about this graphic novel entitled: The Wonders of an HBCU. She and other students from Benedict College’s art department put ideas into sketches that have turned into several short stories. “Our peers would give out feedback and say, hey I think that’s a cool story, but if you tweak or hey that character is cool,” says Allen.

The project was made possible thanks to a grant by Propel and Apple. Professor Sanford Greene is helping the students cross the finish line thanks to his comic book expertise. For one if you’re familiar with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse than you’ve seen his work.

“Being able to take my experiences and implement that into the curriculum here on campus was something that was never done before. And I think that’s the part that was so enjoyable seeing them be able to implement their stories in sequential arts,” says Professor Sanford Greene, Benedict College.

The BEST of BC Students Lead

Jahavheed George knows firsthand what a difference a year can make.

Exactly one year since beginning his internship with Dominion Energy in May 2022 – and just three days after graduating in May 2023 – the Benedict College graduate started his first day with Dominion Energy as a full-time associate financial analyst. A native of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, George moved to South Carolina in 2019 to study accounting.

“Since I started at Dominion Energy, I immediately noticed the culture was positive,” George said. “As an intern, you really want hands-on training, and everyone I worked with was always offering to help me build on my experience.” Dominion Energy prioritizes recruiting and hiring new college graduates to help keep them in the Palmetto State. 

The 81st Miss Benedict College, Morgan Miles, and the 10th Mister Benedict College, Darius Rubin, were officially crowned King and Queen of BC at their Coronation entitled The Royal Standard on Friday, October 13th.

Pictured above: (L-R) Miss 1870, Kleopatra Jones; Miss Senior, Marissa Tisdale; Miss Junior, Tirriney Humphry; Miss Sophomore, April Elston; Miss Freshman, Nyla Williams;

Mister and Miss Benedict College 2023-2024, Darious Rubin and ​Morgan Miles; Royal Assistant, Joshua Davis; Mister 1870, Daelon Adaway; Mister Senior, Damien McCree; Mister Junior, Jordan Wheeler; Mister Sophomore, Levi Garner

Mister Freshman, Jalen Smith

Pictured above: (L-R) Mr. ​Tarondi Bathea_, President; Ms. Rashonda Rhoades, Vice President; Ms. Navaud Guscott, Business Manager; Ms. Makyiah Hails, Recording Secretary; and Ms. Autumn Tisdale, Corresponding Secretary

Navaud Guscott, Sophomore

Finance major

Portland, Jamaica

LaQuon Gibson

Sophomore

Business Administration major

Freeport, Bahamas

Joel Rezil

Sophomore

Business Administration major

Jacmel, Haiti

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina announced a new cohort of the President’s Fellows program, an initiative in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in South Carolina that provides professional development experiences in philanthropy. The initiative seeks to increase the diversity of male leadership within the philanthropic sector.

Launched in 2015, the President’s Fellows program addresses the lack of diversity in nonprofit leadership, specifically within the philanthropic sector. People of color comprise 27 percent of full-time foundation staff and only 10 percent of those individuals hold CEO and leadership roles. Male executive directors of color are the most underrepresented leadership demographic in nonprofit organizations, regardless of budget size. Overall, African Americans represent only 9 percent of nonprofit executive leaders, less than half of which are male.

The 2023-2024 President’s Fellows from Benedict College are Navaud Guscott, LaQuon Gibson, and Joel Rezil.

The President’s Fellow Program is a year-long fellowship to expose students to all aspects of philanthropy. The program spans the full academic calendar and fellows will earn a stipend upon completion of the fellowship. The program offers two tracks, the service-learning track and the issue-based track, both requiring varying degrees of research and volunteer hours. The fellows will also attend board and staff meetings and submit mid-year and end-of-the-year reports.

The BEST of BC Athletics

 Benedict College football coach Chennis Berry and defensive lineman Loobert Denelus both repeated as SIAC Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced on Friday at the pre-championship luncheon at Atlanta's City Hall.

Berry guided the Tigers to a second straight undefeated regular season and second straight appearance into the SIAC Championship game. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 5 in the American Football Coaches Association D2 poll, the highest ranking in school history.

Denelus is one of the leaders on the Benedict defense which ranks No. 1 in the nation in total defense, scoring defense, passing yards allowed, and team passing efficiency defense, while ranking second in team tackles for loss and fourth in team sacks. Individually, Denelus was third on the team with 37 total tackles, which included 10 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. He led the SIAC and ranked seventh in the nation in sacks, and was fifth in the SIAC and 11th in the nation in tackles for loss.

The sixth-ranked Benedict College Tigers wrapped up their second consecutive undefeated regular season with a 37-9 victory over next-door neighbor rival Allen University in the South Carolina HBCU Classic on Saturday in Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.

Benedict improves to 10-0 and will look to defend their SIAC championship next week. The Tigers will take on Albany State in the championship. Albany State (6-4 overall, 6-2 in the SIAC) secured their ticket to the title game with a 13-7 victory over Fort Valley State on Saturday, coupled with Tuskegee losing to Miles, 35-10.

"This is year 29 for me coaching college football, and I've never ever finished two seasons back-to-back undefeated. It's hard to do," said Benedict head coach Chennis Berry. "This is a special team, with special players and special coaches. Again, it's a new team and a new season, but our mission doesn't change, and that's to go 1-0."

The Benedict College baseball team led NCAA Division II in three statistical categories, it was announced by the NCAA.

The Tigers led the nation in stolen bases per game once again. During the 2023 season, the Tigers averaged 5.59 stolen bases per game, easily topping second-place Spring Hill College, which averaged 4.18 stolen bases per game. Leading the nation in stolen bases is not new for the Tigers. Under head coach Selwyn Young, Benedict has been the stolen bases leader for 10 of the past 12 seasons.

The Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) announced the 2022-23 recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards. The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 16th year, is a program that recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level.

Benedict College had 60 student-athletes recognized for their academic excellence.

In total, there were a record breaking 19,537 student-athletes from 196 institutions recognized for the 2022-23 Academic Achievement Awards. This is the most student-athletes being recognized since the inception of the awards program.

A record high, 1,650 student-athletes, was named to the 2022-2023 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Commissioner's All-Academic Team for maintaining at least a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average throughout the 2022-23 academic year, with 169 Benedict College student-athletes recognized for their academic achievement.

Student-athletes with a 3.2 or higher were considered for all-academic team honors. The number of student-athletes selected in each sport is determined by the number of positions usually involved in that sport. Benedict had 14 student-athletes achieve this distinguished honor.

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is pleased to announce a significant event in its ongoing collaboration with ESPN. A thrilling regular-season football game is scheduled to be televised on ESPN2 in October.

ESPN has handpicked an exciting matchup that will showcase Fort Valley State taking on Benedict on Thursday, October 12, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET.

On Thursday, October 12, all eyes will be on Charlie W. Johnson Stadium as it steps into the national spotlight. The previous year's encounter witnessed the Tigers roaring to a commanding 45-13 victory over the Wildcats, marking their first triumph against FVSU since 2018.

The game was originally slated to air live on ESPNU. ESPN2 reaches approximately 76 million households in the United States, compared to approximately 51 million households for ESPNU.

Benedict College senior defensive lineman Loobert Denelus has been named to the 2023 HBCU college football Preseason All-America team presented by BOXTOROW.

Denelus reaped numerous post-season honors last year, anchoring a defensive unit that was ranked as one of the best in Division II. He was named the SIAC Defensive Player of the Year and to numerous All-American teams, including becoming the first player in Benedict College history to be named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. He was recently named the 2023 SIAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Alumni Spotlight

The Grant will enable the Benedict College Women’s Business Center to help empower entrepreneurs from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds in South Carolina.

Shauna R. Cooper, Executive Director of the Benedict College Women’s Business Center, and Don Cravins, Jr. the first Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development at the Press Conference held on Friday, August 4, 2023, in Washington, DC.

The Benedict College Women’s Business Center (WBC) has been selected as one of 43 organizations nationwide to receive a significant grant award from the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Capital Readiness Program (CRP). The $2 million that the BC WBC will receive is part of the Biden Administration’s Capital Readiness Program. Over the next four years, the grant will enable the WBC to expand its mission and services which focuses on empowering entrepreneurs from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.