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TO RECOGNIZE AND COMMEND BENEDICT COLLEGE FOR THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT THE INSTITUTION HAS MADE ON THE LIVES OF LEGIONS OF STUDENTS AND ALUMNI, THE COMMUNITY, THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, THE NATION, AND AROUND THE WORLD FOR A CENTURY AND A HALF AND TO CONGRATULATE STUDENTS, ALUMNI, FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION AS THEY CELEBRATE THEIR SESQUICENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY.
Whereas, Benedict College was founded in 1870 by Mrs. Bathsheba A. Barber Benedict, an abolitionist of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, which established a longstanding connection between Benedict College and the Baptist faith; and
Whereas, the dedication to serve, teach, and lift all who enter the hallowed halls of Benedict College continues as an enduring commitment through the tie binding the institution's past and present; and
Whereas, the founding and subsequent leadership of Benedict College give credence to the early belief that Benedict was God's right hand planting; and
Whereas, Benedict has flourished under the leadership of fourteen outstanding presidents, the first seven of whom were Northern White ministers. In 1930, Reverend John Jacob Starks began the succession of Black presidents; and
Whereas, three presidents emeriti are Dr. Henry Ponder, Dr. Marshall C. Grigsby, and Dr. David H. Swinton. The fourteenth and current president is the first female president, the distinguished and highly respected Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis; and
Whereas, Benedict College has launched more than eighteen thousand graduates into the world, prepared to represent "the Best of BC" and successfully compete and contribute in the areas of education, religion, business, sports, law, and medicine; and
Whereas, many Benedict graduates have achieved national and international acclaim as a power for good in society and have served as transformative and illuminating agents in the places where the golden sunshine falls. Of additional importance, they give of their time, talent, and treasure to their beloved alma mater; and
Whereas, throughout its illustrious one-hundred-fifty-year history, Benedict College has produced great minds and fearless leaders, both men and women. It boasts two of the most powerful Civil Rights icons of the twentieth century among its graduates, the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, Mrs. Septima Clark, who taught Mrs. Rosa Parks the strength of sitting down, and the late Modjeska Simkins, who strongly advised all Americans on the value and responsibility of standing up; and
Whereas, grateful for the many years of distinguished service of Benedict College to educate our youth, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly extend best wishes that the meaning of "benedict," blessing, will continue to be true of Benedict College for the next one hundred fifty years, as the school seeks to be a blessing to many and a beacon of light, truth, and virtue. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize and commend Benedict College for the transformative impact the institution has made on the lives of legions of students and alumni, the community, the State of South Carolina, the nation, and around the world for a century and a half and congratulate students, alumni, faculty, and administration as they celebrate their sesquicentennial anniversary.
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