Life
George E. Cooper – former South Carolina State University President dies
Former South Carolina State University President George E. Cooper has died.
Cooper served as president of the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and University) from 2008 until 2012 when he stepped down.
In 2013, Cooper was appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama as executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs. His mission has been to lead a team that stretched across 32 federal agencies, corporate entities and philanthropic organizations, in working together to strengthen the country’s HBCUs.
On Sunday, Obama said in a statement: “George’s passing is a great loss for my Administration, the HBCU and higher education communities and for everyone that knew him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Diane, family and friends during this difficult time.”
South Carolina State University Interim president W. Franklin Evans also issued a statement about Cooper’s death, stating:
“We honor and remember Dr. Cooper for his unyielding service to our illustrious institution. He served as president from 2008 until 2012. Under his leadership, he was instrumental in advancing progressive initiatives that served as the framework to strengthen the university and reaffirm its mission as a public land-grant university committed to enhancing the quality of lives for all citizens. He also envisioned the university as a formidable model amongst the best institutions of higher learning in the world.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni of South Carolina State University, I extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Mrs. Diane Shaw Cooper, and their daughters during this very difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Under Cooper’s tenure as president, and despite the many challenges which included a decrease in student enrollment, South Carolina State University made significant progress.
In December 2011, after 13 years of delays, construction was completed on the first building in the Clyburn Transportation Center. Work on the Leroy Davis Sr. Research and Science Complex was also completed in 2011. And the 86,500-square-foot art engineering and computer science complex opened a year after Cooper’s departure.
Prior to taking on the assignment as president of the HBCU, Cooper was deputy administrator for science and education resources development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and prior to that, he served as vice president of academic affairs at Alabama A&M University and as a professor and dean at Tuskegee University.
