‘Legacy isn’t inherited; it is lived’: Descendant of SC State’s founding president honors university for continuing mission

Terence Miller Bryan was the keynote speaker for the university’s Founders Day, celebrating SC State’s 130^th birthday.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- The great-great-grandson of South Carolina State University’s founding president said he was proud to be able to speak on the institution’s enduring legacy and mission at its Founder’s Day celebration on Sunday, March 1.

“My first reaction was pride and joy. I’ve always had a deep admiration for South Carolina State University,” said Terence Miller Bryan, whose great-great-grandfather, Thomas E. Miller, founded the institution 130 years ago.

SC State opened in 1896 as the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina. The university commemorates the anniversary of its founding with a Founders Day program each year in March, with this year’s program held Sunday afternoon at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

Bryan, whose wife and mother-in-law are both SC State alumnae, said his great-great-grandfather was a builder and visionary who carved his own spot in history with the founding of an institution that is still building leaders who change the world.

He said being able to come back to SC State and address students, alumni, and others was like coming home.

“He helped shape this institution. It feels like coming home. SC State at its best is family,” said Bryan, a retired U.S. Army Medical Service Corps officer who served for nearly 25 years. He has served as a JROTC instructor in Hawaii for the last 13 years. 

Bryan said SC State was founded at a time when Blacks weren’t afforded many opportunities to become educated and played a key role in that mission in the state and nation.

“It was founded because it was necessary,” he said, noting that Sunday’s ceremony was not just about remembrance, but a responsibility to carry the university’s mission of academic excellence forward.

“Legacy isn’t inherited; it is lived,” Bryan said, referencing the value that actions and decisions have on shaping one’s legacy and its impact on others.

Bryan reflected on the university’s plethora of notable alumni, including Congressman James Clyburn and civil rights leader and educator Benjamin E. Mays.

He said the university continues a tradition of excellence, including with its Army ROTC program.

The university has commissioned more than 2,000 military officers through the program, with the latest commissioning of 2,244 officers in a recent ceremony. Despite not being a military school, SC State has also launched the armed services careers of 24 generals in the U.S. Army.

“That’s pretty remarkable for an HBCU,” said Bryan, noting that SC State President Alexander Conyers, a retired U.S. Army colonel, represented the type of excellence the program produced.

“The campus has known triumph and tragedy,” Bryan said, including with the Orangeburg Massacre, when three young men were killed Feb. 8, 1968, when officers opened fire on a crowd of unarmed Black students who had rallied on campus after demonstrating against segregation at a local bowling alley.

He said history, however, was still being written with current students who have an opportunity to further their education at SC State and become the world’s next leaders.

“You’re writing the next chapter of SC State’s history,” he said, adding that the task doesn’t have to come with a perfect, ready-made plan, but with a vision that his great-great-grandfather and others before them had.

“You’re standing on sacred ground, and you’re built for this moment,” Bryan said, noting that university alums were also shaped by the university’s history of perseverance and tenacity. “That same spirit that founded this university lives in you.”

Conyers presented Bryan and his daughter, Jennifer Bryan, a consultant at McKinsey & Company in Casablanca, Morocco, with Bulldog Legacy Pins at the conclusion of his speech.

Faculty, staff and alumni awards

Faculty and staff service awards were also presented, along with 2026 Quarter Century Club Awards and 2026 Distinguished Awards.

The Staff Employee of the Year Award was presented to Byron Larrymore, office coordinator and coordinator of special events and marketing in the Office of Student Life and Leadership. Larrymore also serves as the university’s head cheerleading coach.

Larrymore was selected from the Employees of the Year for each university division. The other award winners were Derrick Green, Division of Finance and Management; Felicia McMillan, Division of Academic Affairs; Valarie Ryant-Floyd, Division of University Advancement; Shena Scott, Division of Public Service and Agriculture; Amauri M. Allen, Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing; and Chennis Berry, Division of Athletics.

The Professor of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Jacqueline Jones-Brown, graduate program coordinator, assistant professor and clinical educator in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology.

Jones-Brown was selected from the Professors of the Year for each college. To other recipients were Dr. Joseph Boffie, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Dr. Jesuon Gibbs-Brown, College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences; and Dr. Alex Thompson, College of Business and Information Systems.

Distinguished Awards were presented to the following alumni:

• Distinguished Alumna Award, Brigadier General Camilla A. White, ‘94
• Distinguished Young Alumna Award, Sheena R. Banks, ‘07
• Distinguished Young Alumnus Award, Demetrius A. Chatman, ‘08
• Distinguished Service Award – Community, Millicent M. Stackhouse, ‘87
• Sa’Rah L. Jones, ’95, who was not present, Outstanding Accomplishments and Achievements Award.
• Distinguished Alumni Awards were presented to the Classes of 1970, 1975 and 1980.

Faculty and staff service awards

Newly inducted members of the Quarter Century Club, which recognizes employees with 25 years of service, are Shondra F. Abraham, chief of staff, Office of the President; Dr. M. Evelyn Fields, dean of the College of Education, Humanities & Social Sciences, professor of Early Childhood Education; Brenda Howard, administrative coordinator, Office of the President; Dr. Nasrollah Hamidi, professor of chemistry, Department of Biological & Physical Sciences; Emilyn B. Jamison, administrative specialist II, Financial Affairs & Management Information Systems; Sharon M. Scott, administrative coordinator, The BECT Institute; Katrina Sherman, administrative specialist II, Department of Speech Pathology & Audiology; Kay E. Snider, director of marketing, Strategic Communications & Marketing; and Dionne A. Summers, information resource consultant, University Computing & Information Technology Services.

10 years of service: Sharon R. Conelly, grant administrator, Office of Sponsored Programs & Research; Beverly H. Green, Program Coordinator II, Department of Engineering Technology; Dr. Matthew Waritay Guah, dean of the College of Business & Information Systems; Felicia Lawrence, undergraduate academic program coordinator, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology; Dr. Franklin L. Pressley, director of Student Life & Leadership, Division of Student Affairs; Jamie L. Rogers, academic program coordinator, coordinator of field instruction and instructor, Department of Human Services, Social Work Program.

20 years of service: Hope Blackley, Government Liaison; Tyron L. Clinton, Director for Student Success Center & Trio Programs; Cornelius Hamilton, extension regional director, 1890 Research & Extension; Donna C. Hanton, fiscal manager, Division of Finance; Elizabeth B. Horton, director, Office of Graduate Services College of Graduate & Professional Studies; Dr. Ivan Radev, associate professor, Department of Mathematics & Computer Science; Dr. William R. Rampone Jr., associate Professor of Literature, Department of English & Communications, Demier Richardson-Sanders, 4-H State Program leader, 1890 Research & Extension; Dr. Cassandra L. Sligh-Conway, professor, Grant Consultant, Rehabilitation Counseling Program; Patricia Stokes, fiscal analyst II, Office of the Controller.

30+ years of service: Patricia M. Kearse, accountant/fiscal analyst II, Division of Student Affairs; Carl A. Oliver, administrative computing manager, University Computing and Information Technology Services; Dr. Jafar S. Sadighi, instructor, Department of Mathematics & Computer Science; Gwendolyn Faith Mitchell Ulmer, grants administrator, Office of Sponsored Programs & Research; Ronald S. York, Director of Human Resources.

40+ years of service: Dr. George E. Hicks, professor of education, Program Coordinator for Elementary Education, Department of Education, College of Humanities, Education & Social Sciences.

Thomas E. Miller Society

Thomas E. Miller Society inductees were also recognized at Sunday’s Founders Day ceremony. Named for the institution’s first president, the Thomas E. Miller Society recognizes donors who have contributed gifts totaling $100,000 or more to the university. 

The 2026 inductees are:

• Dr. Rosa Ishmal, '71
• Joseph Kenneth James, '75
• Linda P. Johnson, '87
• Dia Nichols, '96
• Andre Rice, '78
• Alphair Varner, '58
• Trustee Jameel O. Allen, '01 & Dr. Telicia H. Allen
•  Howard B. Bush, '71 & Loretta S. Bush, '73
• Dr. Leroy Davis Sr., '71 & Christine M. Davis, '73
• Sidney B. Fulton III, '83, '85 & Jacquelyn R. Fulton, '84
•  The Rev. Samuel B. Glover, '69, '73 & Dr. Saundra H. Glover, '79
• Andrew F. Jackson, '84 & Dr. Lesa M. Rice-Jackson, '85
• Carl Johnson Jr., '86 & Linda D. Johnson, '85
• Lt. Col. (Ret.) Dr. Zackary R. Johnson, '74 & Sandra O. Johnson
• Raymond W. Pressley, '03 & Ranjlene V. Pressley
• Dr. Kevin L. Ray, '97 & ClaySandra Dash Ray, '98
• Dr. Walter L. Tobin, '63 & Bernice Y. Tobin, '76
• Col. (Ret.) Lewis J. Wallace, '54 & Gladys W. Wallace, '54