Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack

Founded in 1869, Claflin is the first college and university in South Carolina to admit all students regardless of gender, race, ethnic origin, or religion — a proud legacy of diversity and inclusion aligned with its affiliation with The United Methodist Church. Under Warmack’s stewardship, Claflin has experienced record fundraising, innovative virtual learning environments, accelerated faculty and student research, and dramatic expansion of its campus landscape.

In November 2022, Claflin’s Reaffirmation of Accreditation with No Recommendations by SACSCOC explicitly acknowledged the University’s exceptional academic programs and Warmack’s insightful and progressive leadership.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020, Warmack built consensus for the University’s agile and effective response, galvanizing the campus community to adopt policies critical to campus safety and the seamless delivery of Claflin’s outstanding academic programs across multiple virtual platforms.

Despite a global pandemic, Warmack wasted little time before addressing essential priorities including increasing the endowment. By promoting Claflin’s proud legacy of academic excellence, student success, and community engagement to industry leaders nationally and abroad, Claflin began its pathway to unprecedented fundraising success — including a $20 million transformational gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2021. The University’s endowment has grown to $77 million from $26.8 million, representing an incredible 187% increase.

“Claflin University Not Only Survives — But Thrives During a Global Pandemic.” — Dr. Warmack, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 2020