Announcement
July 13, 2021
 
Conyers named acting president of SC State University
 
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The South Carolina State University Board of Trustees on Tuesday appointed Retired U.S. Army Col. Alexander Conyers as the university’s acting president.
 
Acting SC State President Alexander Conyers
Conyers, an SC State alumnus, has served the university as Vice President for Strategic Alliances and Initiatives since May 3. The board’s unanimous vote named him to the acting presidency pending further action by the board.

Col. Conyers is an experienced servant leader with over 28 years in the U.S. Army. He is a proven leader who has led complex organizations in areas of leadership, recruitment, retention, training, human resources, finance and budget, safety, and accreditation. His assignments consisted of many stateside locations including two tours at the Pentagon and South Korea, Canada, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Conyers previously served in Washington, D.C., in the Senior Executive Service (federal government just below Presidential Appointees) as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Review Boards); a two-star general equivalent. In this capacity, he led the Army Review Boards Agency, which on behalf of the Secretary of the Army serves as the highest administrative level for review and appeal of personnel actions taken by lower levels of the Army. The agency administers 12 different boards and adjudicates over 20,000 cases annually from Soldiers, veterans and family members. He was responsible for boards that adjudicates cases involving evaluation and promotions, discharge upgrades, physical disability, eliminations, the parole board for military prisoners and other cases.
 
He culminated his military career in 2016 after rising from private to colonel as the leader of the Army’s largest and most complex military police brigade. He led over 3,600 soldiers and civilians across four military installations: Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, Ft. Stewart, Georgia, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and Ft. Drum, New York. He was also responsible for the safety of the Ft. Bragg community with a population of over 100,000 personnel.
 
Col. Conyers remained intimately involved with SCSU while serving in the Army. He served as member of the SCSU Board of Visitors, Chairman of the Student Relations Committee for the SCSU National Alumni Association and a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee. He was featured as a 2016 Honoree on the Stellar Alumni Calendar. He has also been inducted into SCSU ROTC Hall of Fame and most recently served as the President of the Washington, D.C., Chapter of the National Alumni Association.
 
A Manning, SC native. Col. Conyers holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from SC State, a master’s degree in corrections from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in public administration from Troy University. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and The University of North Carolina’s Leadership, Excellence and Development (LEAD) program. He is a member of several professional associations, including the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, and a former adjunct professor at Upper Iowa University.
 
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Media Contact
Sam Watson
Public Information Officer
South Carolina State University
803-533-3603 (Desk)
803-747-1223 (Cell)
 
Founded in 1896 as a land grant institution with a mission of providing service to the citizens of the state, South Carolina State University has evolved from a small teachers’ college into a major University center of learning and research. Located in Orangeburg, S.C., South Carolina State offers more than 50 different fields of study on the undergraduate and graduate levels. South Carolina State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools.