South Carolina State University honors distinguished alumnus Benjamin F. Payton
January 29, 2018
The life and legacy of South Carolina’s own Benjamin Franklin Payton will be on display and celebrated next month in his hometown of Orangeburg, South Carolina. The Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Dr. Benjamin F. Payton will be a two-day event on Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10.
The event is expected to include lectures to students and a panel discussion on his contributions in higher education, civil rights and religion on February 9. The major celebratory event will be held at 1 p.m. on February 10 at the Fine Arts Center.
Dr. Payton began and ended his career in higher education. After his early years spent as an assistant professor at Howard University and director of the school’s Community Service Project, he spent time in leadership positions with the Ford Foundation, the National Council of Churches in the USA., and the Protestant Council, City of New York. Payton ultimately made his most lasting mark as a college and university president, first at Benedict College in South Carolina’s capital city of Columbia, and at Tuskegee University, becoming that school’s fifth president, serving from 1981 until 2010.
His brother, Dr. Cecil W. Payton, notes that during what most agree was a successful tenure as president, this South Carolina native is credited with leading Tuskegee from institute to university status, with more than $350-million in capital construction projects including a new National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care, a new hotel and conference center on campus, new student housing, a new business and information science facility, and renovation of numerous historic buildings, among others. Under Dr. Payton’s leadership, Tuskegee University enjoyed capital campaigns that raised over $260-million and the institution’s endowment grew from less than $15-million to more than $102-million.
“My brother’s career in higher education can only be described as remarkable,” said Dr. Payton, the one-time professor of Biology and former executive assistant to the President of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md. “He loved what he did and, until his death in 2016, was always proud to tell people that he was born in Orangeburg and graduated from South Carolina State. I am very grateful and I know that my brother would be humbled that his life and legacy are being honored in this way.”
Benjamin F. Payton graduated with honors from SC State University with a B.A. in Social Studies and later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Divinity from Harvard, a master’s degree in Religion from Columbia University and the Doctor of Philosophy in Social Ethics from Yale.
For more information about the life of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Payton and for details about the celebration event, contact Dr. Cecil W. Payton at 410-366-2029 or Iva L. Gardner at 803-516-4616.
Founded in 1896 as a land grant institution with a mission of providing service to the citizens of the state, South Carolina State University has evolved from a small teachers’ college into a major University center of learning and research. Located in Orangeburg, S.C., with a student population of some 2,600, South Carolina State offers more than 50 different fields of study on the undergraduate and graduate levels. South Carolina State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools.
