Oldest alumni reflect on SC State history, impact on life

The Bulldog Legacy Series: 130 Years of SC State

Centenarians Daisy Rogers McDuffie and Timothy Jennings will celebrate birthdays over the next few days.

Note: This is part of a series commemorating the 130th Anniversary of SC State.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — As South Carolina State University celebrates its 130^th anniversary this year, two of its oldest alumni recently reflected on the opportunities the university provided to lead successful lives.

Both Daisy Rogers McDuffie and Timothy Jennings are centenarians with birthdays on the immediate horizon.

A lifetime in education

Mrs. McDuffie, of Rock Hill, S.C., earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from what was then Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina in 1944.

McDuffie, who will turn 104 on Sunday, Feb. 22, said she received a good education at SC State. After graduating, she influenced thousands of children across the state during her 35 years of classroom teaching and mentoring.

“I enjoyed the children,” she said.

McDuffie has received several honors over more than a century of life, including a proclamation from the state House of Representatives in 1997 designating Feb. 22 as Daisy Rogers McDuffie Day and having a street named in her honor in Rock Hill.

Her husband, Dock Cleveland McDuffie Jr., graduated from SC State in 1943. The couple’s son also graduated from SC State, along with his wife and son.

Upon Mrs. McDuffie’s retirement in 1981, she remained active in the Rock Hill community, including serving as a leader in her church and as a tourism commission member.

Her son, Dr. Dock McDuffie III, a dentist, said his mother did her practice teaching at the Penn Center in Beaufort, South Carolina, where the legacy lies in an enduring commitment to Black education.

Dr. McDuffie said he is elated that the university is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year.

“I’m just so happy for the institution,” he said.

Dr. McDuffie said he is fortunate to still have his loving, supportive mother still living.

“I just feel so overly blessed, and I don’t know what it is that I’ve done so well. I’m just blessed that she’s been able to bring me through 26 years of military service and dental school,” he said.

From SC State to World War II and back

Jennings, who will turn 101 on Thursday, March 5, is a native of rural Cope, South Carolina, and has lived in Philadelphia since the early 1950’s.

He is married to Ardella H. Jennings and is the father of five children, 15 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

Jennings is a 1948 graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering.

“I was in the shoemaking area at that time. I enjoyed everything,” Jennings said. “It was A&M, agricultural and mechanical. I was in the mechanical view of it. You got to know how to make shoes and everything.”

Jennings, whose brother played football at SC State, continued, “We had good football players. It was one of the best places to be, and it was good to have all of the trades and agricultural situation.”

He commented on the changes on the campus in recent years.

“They did a lot of construction and instruction and everything else since I’ve been away,” he said.

Jennings considered the university’s 130^th anniversary to be special and something to be celebrated.

“Oh, that’s fantastic,” Jennings said, noting that he appreciated the opportunity to attend school. “I was able to go to South Carolina State and didn’t have the money to pay. It was all paid by the government. I was able to go to college there and didn’t have to pay anything.”

Jennings was enrolled at the college until his education was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the U.S. Navy. As part of his service, he stayed in Okinawa, Japan, for several months before returning to SC State to complete his degree.

He later moved to Philadelphia, where he served as a vocational education teacher in the public school system. He completed his teaching career at Overbrook High School, where he taught shoe repair and leather craft. 

After retiring from teaching, Jennings owned and operated his own shoe repair business called Luke’s Imperial Shoe Repair in West Philadelphia for 10 years.

His daughter, Jocelynn, who lives in Philadelphia, and his son, Jonathan, who lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, said their father is a proud SC State graduate.

“He wears a lot of his South Carolina State sweatshirts and hats and his jacket. We are an HBCU family,” Jocelynn said.

She said her mother attended Coppin State University, while she attended West Virginia State University and Lincoln University, and her brother attended St. Augustine’s University.

Jocelynn said her dad and his best friend, the late Robert Chapman, who also attended SC State, would make regular trips to SC State homecomings.

Jocelynn and Jonathan said it was commendable that SC State was celebrating a milestone anniversary this year, with Jonathan noting that he appreciated the training that SC State provided for his dad so many years ago.

“I think it’s amazing,” he said. “In the summer of ’24, Dad and I took a road trip. We came down to South Carolina State, and we came to Orangeburg. To see the memories and the gleam in his eye when we’d go by the university was amazing. 

“When I think about the type of education that dad got, it makes me think about the whole idea about HBCUs. They’re so well-rounded,” Jonathan said. “I mean the fact that he gets a degree in mechanical engineering, but he also does plumbing, electrical, flooring. Everything, you name it.”

Jocelynn said her father continued to work until he was 92. Even after selling his business, he repaired shoes and machines at other shops. 

The commitment and zest for life have been inspiring for his children.

 “He gave us a hard work ethic for sure. He’s remarkable. Our dad was still ice-skating at 90 years old,” Jonathan said.