ISSUE: HBCU Week

OUR VIEW: Institutions, communities increasingly linked in progress

It's been quite a year for South Carolina State University. The first-in-the-nation presidential debate in April put the historically black university on the national stage, with 6th District Congressman and U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn stating the event brought the institution out of the shadow of the 1968 "Orangeburg Massacre."

There is more. While so much of South Carolina was focused on this past weekend's historic football match-up between SCSU and the University of South Carolina, the Orangeburg university made headlines of another sort. For the second consecutive year, Washington Monthly magazine has ranked SCSU among the top 10 in the nation, putting it in a group along with such schools as Stanford, Texas A&M, UCLA and Cornell.

Next door, Claflin

University continued a decade of accomplishment by counting among a string of honors again being ranked in the top tier in the U.S. News & World Report

survey known as "America's Best Colleges."

This year, the university earned the No. 10 ranking among "Best Baccalaureate Colleges" in the South. Claflin also ranked nationally in categories for retention and alumni giving. The university's alumni giving ranking is in first place in the South and placed fourth among all regions.

Claflin's retention rate earned the university a second-place tie and a third-place ranking for "Highest Graduation Rate," regionally. Claflin also increased its score in the category of peer assessment.

Couple the two Orangeburg universities with Voorhees College and Denmark Technical College, both in Denmark, and The T&D Region has a rich heritage surrounding its historically black colleges and universities. They provide important educational opportunities and play crucial community-betterment roles.

In Denmark, for example, Voorhees' new Center of Excellence in Rural and Minority Health is attacking the health problems that plague the region, teaching people the importance of prior diet. The center's mission is "to eliminate health disparities through dissemination of health information by way of technology and traditional means, and to improve access to quality health care to the rural and minority communities of Bamberg and its surrounding counties."

It's the type of mission the HBCUs have in their history and see for the future. Clyburn has been instrumental in expanding the opportunities offered by our region's colleges and universities.

In recognizing this as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week, he offers the following assessment:

"I strongly believe that institutions of higher learning are only as good as what they produce, and no other set of institutions has a more impressive alumni roll than our nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The inspirational vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the unqualified leadership of Thurgood Marshall are a testament to the HBCUs that helped groom their skills and develop their talents.

"During my 14 years in Congress, I have been a strong and ardent supporter of HBCUs. Earlier this year, I worked with my colleagues in passing the College Cost Reduction Act. This landmark bill extends well-deserved federal funds to HBCUs by providing them with $170 million in grants over the next five years.

"As a graduate of South Carolina State University, I understand the vital importance that HBCUs play in the advancement of our minority youth. I will continue to work with my colleagues in preserving the magnificent legacy of these fine colleges and universities."

Orangeburg and the region have reason to celebrate. More than ever, the universities and the community are in the business of progressing together. As it should be.

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