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As Clyburn Honors College dean, Whitaker will be responsible for providing students of high academic promise and achievement with a premier, accessible undergraduate honors experience. Faculty, staff, students, and graduates will be engaged in scholarship, creative endeavors, and societal impact that enhances the university’s various regional and professional communities.
Whitaker will oversee the planning and coordination of the operational, personnel, budgetary, and fundraising activities of the Clyburn Honors College. He also will provide leadership in the development and implementation of curricula and academic programming.
About Dr. William H. Whitaker Jr.
Prior to accepting the Clyburn Honors College role, Whitaker served as acting dean of the new College of Agriculture, Family and Consumer Sciences (CAFCS). In this role, Whitaker developed curriculum and program options and established Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with domestic and international partners, including the University of Guyana, Kuru Kuru Cooperative College, and the Guyana School of Agriculture in South America.
CAFCS secured over $8 million in funded grants during his tenure.
Additionally, he served SC State as chairperson and professor for the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. Whitaker led the department in national efforts to complete three successful accreditation reviews from 2016 to 2019 for the Department of Family and Consumer Science, the Nutrition and Food Management Program, and the Child Development Learning Center. He has served as an accreditation reviewer on the Council for Accreditation for the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences.
Formerly, Whitaker served as acting associate provost in Division of Academic Affairs. He has more than 30 years of professional experience in higher education, including serving as assistant vice president for institutional effectiveness, assistant dean for education, and special assistant to the president at Livingstone College and Benedict College, respectively.
Whitaker earned a Bachelor of Science degree in clothing, textiles, fashion and interior merchandising from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro; a Master of Science degree in Merchandising Management from the College of Human Ecology at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; and a Doctor of Education degree with a concentration in higher education administration from the College of Education in Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
About the Clyburn Honors College
Funded largely through the generosity of U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn and his family, the college is named for the congressman’s late wife, Dr. Emily England Clyburn, who considered the honors program one of her most important endeavors. Both James and Emily Clyburn graduated from the university in 1961.
The Honors College is designed to provide the best possible education for the exceptional student. The Honors College provides a more rigorous academic curriculum based on a required core of honors general education courses and special topic seminars from freshmen year through graduation. It also provides a means for an educational experience focusing on knowledge, cultural, and theoretical skills that will allow graduates to be more successful in all aspects of life.
The Clyburn Honors College has grown tremendously, as it consists of inductees represented in all five of the university’s academic colleges.
About Dr. Emily England Clyburn
After earning her bachelor’s degree in library science from SC State in 1961, Emily Clyburn furthered her studies at Atlanta University and the University of South Carolina, where in 1977 she earned a master’s degree in librarianship. SCSU awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at its 2010 Spring Commencement. She was a public school librarian in Columbia and Charleston before spending 29 years as a medical librarian at the Charleston Naval Base and Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia.
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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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