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With offices at the Africa University Development Office in Nashville, Tennessee, and the university site at Old Mutare, he is responsible for interpreting the programs of the university to constituencies throughout the United Methodist connection and beyond. He is the chief advancement officer and fundraiser for the institution and in charge of the university’s institutional advancement program.
He holds membership in the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Council for Advancement and Support of Higher Education.
One of the original founders of the university in 1988, the board of directors named him the president/CEO of Africa University, TN Inc. in 2021.
Under his advancement leadership the university has grown from 40 students in renovated farm buildings to 3,000 students with more than 12,000 graduates and 48 modern buildings with no debt. The university endowment fund has grown from $300,000 to $110 million with a combined total of campaigns and capital projects that number more than $126 million.
Salley has also provided successful fundraising leadership to several United Methodist churches, historically Black Colleges and Universities, Gammon Theological Seminary, and National Black Methodist for Church Renewal.
Salley is a native of Orangeburg and was educated in the public schools of Orangeburg and graduated from Wilkinson High School and South Carolina State University. He has done additional studies at Vanderbilt and Belmont Universities in Nashville, Tennessee and holds certificates in management and business studies and institutional advancement.
He spent 15 years in the field of broadcasting where he held positions as staff announcer, news and public affairs director, account executive, assistant station manager, and station manager of various radio stations. He was the executive producer, host, and road manager of the South Carolina State University Football Television Show for 14 years.
Salley was the first African American to serve as the president of the South Carolina Associated Press Broadcasters Association and the Radio and Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas.
Salley has served as account executive for a major advertising and public relations firm in Columbia, South Carolina, and was employed as the first director of institutional advancement at SC State University before assuming his current role with Africa University. In that capacity, he had total responsibility for activities relative to government and corporate relations and business development.
He is a member of Edisto Fork United Methodist Church and formerly served as the church’s lay leader. He is a Certified Lay Servant.
He served as the board secretary of the Orangeburg District Five School Board of Trustees for seven years. He is a member of numerous civic and community organizations and a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc, Black Methodist for Church Renewal of the United Methodist Church and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
In May 1998, Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, awarded Mr. Salley an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. In 2008, Gammon Theological Seminary and the Interdenominational Theological Center of Atlanta, Georgia, bestowed him a second Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
While a student at SC State he was a member of the internationally known Henderson-Davis Players, traveled to nine countries, and received honors for best actor and supporting actor in “Purlie Victorious” and “Ceremonies in Dark Old Men.” Salley is also a national speech and prose winner.
In November 2015 he was honored by AT&T and the University of South Carolina as a part of the 2016 African American Black History Calendar.
He is a member of The Miller Society of South Carolina State and has established endowed scholarships in memory of his parents, Marie and James Salley, and sister and brother-in-law, Gussie and James Tucker.
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About South Carolina State University
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.
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