Spartanburg Community College President Henry C. Giles, Jr., announces retirement
January 28, 2020
Spartanburg Community College President Henry C. Giles, Jr., announced his retirement at the January meeting of the Spartanburg County Commission for Technical and Community Education, effective June 30, 2020.
For the past 56 years, SCC has been a driving force in Upstate economic and workforce development initiatives, educating thousands of students of all ages and walks of life. For 50 of those years, Pres. Giles has been a strong advocate of technical/community College education, starting out as a math instructor in 1969. His dedication to students, faculty, staff and our community is as strong today as it was then.
In a statement to SCC faculty and staff Giles said, “This evening at our Commission meeting I announced that I plan to retire on June 30, 2020. I wanted you, my SCC family, to know of my decision as fast as possible. I feel the College is in the best situation possible. We are sound financially, we have a great faculty and staff, we have good support from our counties and the community. I will be 74 in March and am still in good health. I want to have some time to enjoy other aspects of life. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life, you certainly enriched mine.”
Before being named the sixth president of SCC, Giles served as interim president as well as vice president and executive vice president of business affairs for 18 years. He was responsible for the financial management of the College during the majority of his SCC tenure. Giles was instrumental in facilitating the purchase of the Evans Building in downtown Spartanburg, now the SCC Downtown Campus, as well as the creation and expansion of the SCC Spark Center, an invaluable economic development tool for Spartanburg County. He also held College positions as program manager, vice president for development and vice president for academic affairs. Giles brought a tenacious fiscal responsibility to all endeavors, which resulted in the College receiving favorable audits and maintaining balanced budgets over the years, thereby positioning the College today to serve more than 6,000 students across five campuses throughout the three-county service area.
A native of Cowpens, Giles earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics at Wofford College and a master of arts in teaching degree in mathematics at Converse College. Mr. Giles continued his educational pursuit by completing graduate work in higher education administration from Nova University in Florida and in management from the University of South Carolina. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Education from the University of South Carolina Upstate and an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Wofford College. He has served as chair of the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education’s Chief Business Officers Peer. Giles is also active in the local community, having served in leadership positions on boards and committees with the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, East Spartanburg Rotary Club, Spartanburg School District 7 School To Work, Spartanburg School District 3 Leadership Council, Healthy Smiles of Spartanburg, Rutherfordton Town Council, and Leadership Rutherfordton Board of Directors. Giles’ many contributions were recognized at an August 2019 College celebration where he received the SC Order of the Palmetto on behalf of Governor Henry McMaster as well as received honors from the Spartanburg County Commission for Technical and Community Education, including a new, privately funded scholarship with the SCC Foundation.
The search for SCC’s seventh president will be managed by the SC Technical College System human resources department.
