Conyers named acting president of SC State University

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The South Carolina State University Board of Trustees on Tuesday appointed Retired U.S. Army Col. Alexander Conyers as the university’s acting president.

Conyers, an SC State alumnus, has served the university as Vice President for Strategic Alliances and Initiatives since May 3. The board’s unanimous vote named him to the acting presidency pending further action by the board.

“The South Carolina State University Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Col. Alexander Conyers as acting president of the institution,” said Board Chairman Rodney C. Jenkins. “The vote is evidence that the board has full confidence in his leadership ability and in his capability to manage the university as it makes this important transition.

“The board looks forward to working with Col. Conyers to continue advancing the university in pursuit of its mission to provide access to a quality education for promising students,” Jenkins said.

Col. Conyers is an experienced servant leader with over 28 years in the U.S. Army. He is a proven leader who has led complex organizations in areas of leadership, recruitment, retention, training, human resources, finance and budget, safety, and accreditation. His assignments consisted of many stateside locations including two tours at the Pentagon and South Korea, Canada, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Conyers previously served in Washington, D.C., in the Senior Executive Service (federal government just below Presidential Appointees) as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Review Boards); a two-star general equivalent. In this capacity, he led the Army Review Boards Agency, which on behalf of the Secretary of the Army serves as the highest administrative level for review and appeal of personnel actions taken by lower levels of the Army. The agency administers 12 different boards and adjudicates over 20,000 cases annually from Soldiers, veterans and family members. He was responsible for boards that adjudicates cases involving evaluation and promotions, discharge upgrades, physical disability, eliminations, the parole board for military prisoners and other cases.

He culminated his military career in 2016 after rising from private to colonel as the leader of the Army’s largest and most complex military police brigade. He led over 3,600 soldiers and civilians across four military installations: Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, Ft. Stewart, Georgia, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and Ft. Drum, New York. He was also responsible for the safety of the Ft. Bragg community with a population of over 100,000 personnel.

Col. Conyers remained intimately involved with SCSU while serving in the Army. He served as member of the SCSU Board of Visitors, Chairman of the Student Relations Committee for the SCSU National Alumni Association and a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee. He was featured as a 2016 Honoree on the Stellar Alumni Calendar. He has also been inducted into SCSU ROTC Hall of Fame and most recently served as the President of the Washington, D.C., Chapter of the National Alumni Association.

A Manning, SC native. Col. Conyers holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from SC State, a master’s degree in corrections from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in public administration from Troy University. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and The University of North Carolina’s Leadership, Excellence and Development (LEAD) program. He is a member of several professional associations, including the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, and a former adjunct professor at Upper Iowa University.