Claflin University’s president, Dr. Henry N. Tisdale and Mrs. Alice Carson Tisdale, along with staff from the university, hosted the fourth annual Orange and Maroon Breakfast, Saturday, January 13^th, in Greenville, SC to acknowledge the support of Upstate alumni and to welcome new students for the 2007 Fall Semester.

The breakfast, held at the Greenville Hilton, had the air of a reunion event with Claflin alumni, spanning the decades, meeting each other with hugs, handshakes and enthusiastic greetings.

Dr. Tisdale used the occasion to update the assembled guests of Claflin’s most recent achievements, listing academic successes, including the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, which is partnering with Orangeburg City Department of Public Safety to accelerate the process of drug analysis for Orangeburg, Calhoun and Dorchester Counties and which, in the future, will also incorporate a DNA and ballistics components, creating one of the most comprehensive forensic labs in the state.

“Claflin is a university that is on the move,” the president told the audience, who responded with a round of applause. Dr. Tisdale went on to praise the student body, “Academic excellence is our first priority and we are please to have such outstanding students who are doing exceptionally well.”

Dr. Tisdale acknowledged students from the Upstate, including Whitney White, the current Miss UNCF, who is from Greenville. He mentioned Travis Boyce, who is completing his PhD at Ohio State. He also paid tribute to recent Claflin graduates noting that some of them had successful careers in the local media, both in television and print journalism.

Speaking directly to incoming students, Dr. Tisdale said, “We are very pleased that we are continuing to get such outstanding students from this area.” He told them, “Claflin will give you confidence. As a matter of fact it’s called the Claflin Confidence. It’s something special you can get only at Claflin.” Guests and alumni were quick to endorse the president’s declaration with more applause.

In acknowledging the role of alumni in supporting the institution, he told those present that Claflin ranked among the highest in alumni giving; that it was because of their generosity and support that the university had the resources to achieve its reputation for academic excellence. Dr. Tisdale also thanked alumni for their efforts to recruit students. “You have helped to make Claflin one of the very best and we are proud of that.”

Dr. Tisdale was again given a round of applause which shortly afterwards turned into singing when it was announced that it was his birthday. When asked how old he was, smiling, Dr. Tisdale announced that he was in fact a child prodigy when he attended Claflin and therefore much younger than the other graduates in his class.

The president graduated magna cum laud in 1965, with a degree in biology and went on to receive a Master of Education at Temple University before being awarded a PhD in mathematics at Dartmouth College.