SC State’s Dr. Maria James to be keynote speaker for state extension association’s annual meeting

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Dr. Maria James, chair of South Carolina State University’s Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, will deliver the keynote address at the South Carolina Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences’(SCEAFCS) annual meeting on Thursday, Aug. 29.

The address is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Sandhill Research and Education Center in Columbia, South Carolina.

SCEAFCS is the official South Carolina affiliate of the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. The organization’s goal is to provide education and recognition to extension professionals who dedicate their lives to improving the health and well-being of all South Carolinians.

An SC State alumna, James has served her alma mater since 2012. In addition to her duties as department chair, James is an associate professor of family and consumer sciences and academic program coordinator for the department’s child development program.

Prior to coming to SC State, she was a primary schoolteacher.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences business/child development at SC State in 1995. She completed her master’s degree in early childhood education at Francis Marion University in 1996, her Ph.D. in education at Capella University in 2006, and her Educational Specialist degree in educational leadership at Cambridge College in 2009.

For more information about SC State's Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, visit www.scsu.edu/academics/departments/family-and-consumer-sciences.