The T&D January 16, 2017 Tisdale, Clark make Top Ten HBCU Presidents list By Dale Linder-Altman Presidents of both of Orangeburg's Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been named to HBCU Digest's Top Ten Most Influential Presidents of 2016. Claflin University President Dr. Henry Tisdale was ninth on the list. The HBCU Digest cited various university successes under Tisdale's leadership as reasons for naming him to the list. They include the successful conclusion of a $100 million capital campaign, new relationships the university built in India and ground broken in the Zika virus by university research. The Digest also lists Tisdale's efforts at bringing healing to the university after the deaths of four sports management students in a traffic accident. James Clark, who was named president of South Carolina State University in June, is seventh on the list, "not because of the dramatic improvement of the university's fortune," but because he was elected by a board that did not follow university procedure in hiring him, the Digest reported. He was elected as a "symbol of the emerging culture of states selecting presidents for public institutions without formal searches, or input from campus constituents." Clark was a member of S.C. State's interim board appointed by the state legislature in June 2015 and had to resign to take the job. Some members of the community and at least one member of the legislature protested the unorthodox means used to appoint him. Normal procedure is to seek input from the university community and others before carrying out a search to fill the position. The Digest also cited Clark's "fiery" speech in answer to the criticisms for another reason for naming him to the list. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/