SC State to present 11 Distinguished Achievement Awards at annual Founders Day Celebration

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – South Carolina State University will present awards to three alumni and two former faculty members for distinguished achievements at the annual Founders Day Celebration on Sunday, March 3.

The university also will honor six alumni classes for their support of SC State.

The program is set to begin at 4 p.m. in Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center with SC State alumnus James Salley as the principal speaker. The public is invited.

The Distinguished Achievement Award recipients are:

• Javon D. Hargrave, Class of 2015, National Football League player, Distinguished Young Alumnus Award.
• Jennifer M. Chapman, Class of 1994, owner of JennAffairs, Distinguished Alumna Award.
• Retired Lt. Col. Anthony Watson, recruiting operations officer, SC State Army ROTC Bulldog Battalion, Distinguished Alumnus Award.
• Dr. William C. Hine, author and retired SC State professor of history, Outstanding Accomplishments and Achievements Award.
• Dr. Darlene Clark Hine, author and Black women’s history scholar, Outstanding Accomplishments and Achievements Award.

 

SC State will honor the alumni Classes of 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978 and 1983 for their achievements and their support of the university. Reunion classes are recognized for the exemplary accomplishments individually and collectively, as evidenced by their continued support of SC State’s goals and programs:

• The Class of 1958 provided generous gifts to the Annual Fund and various campus improvement projects.
• The Classes of 1963 and 1968 gave funds for endowed scholarships.
• The Golden Class of 1973 gave funds to the President’s Discretionary Fund, Marching 101 Band, athletics, and the football program.
• The Class of 1978 supported the Annual Fund, provided scholarships and assisted with campus electronic signage.
• The Class of 1983 provided funds for scholarships and the installation of a bronze Bulldog.

 

 About the honorees

• Javon Hargrave is one of the most dominant defensive linemen to ever wear a South Carolina State football. After a stellar collegiate career at SC State, the Salisbury, North Carolina, native enjoyed a four-year stint with the Pittsburg Steelers, before signing in 2020 with the Philadelphia Eagles, who made him the highest-paid nose guard in the league. The Eagles made it to Super Bowl LVII where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35. On March 16, 2023, Hargrave signed a four-year, $84 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers. Hargrave helped the 49ers to Super Bowl LVIII where he had an outstanding game despite his team’s loss to -- once more -- the Kansas City Chiefs. Hargrave was inducted into the SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022 and is scheduled to be enshrined in the MEAC Hall of Fame in March.
• Jennifer M. Chapman is the owner of JennAffairs, a company dedicated to creating breathtaking floral arrangements and event décor for all occasions.  She has designed for several celebrity clients including rapper Ludacris, Boxer Evander Holyfield, and Tyler Perry Films actress Cassie Davis-Patton. Her work was also featured on MTV’s My Sweet Sixteen for Rapper Ceelo’s daughter Sierra. In addition to her successful career as a floral designer, she is also a savvy businesswoman with a diverse portfolio including real estate properties and investments.  She is the owner of The Pink Door Salon Suites and Spa, a luxurious and exclusive haven where beauty professionals can thrive and provide top-notch services to their clientele. Furthermore, she is the sole proprietor of two esteemed event venues, 1361 Event Studio and Sulit Luxe Affairs. Chapman recently announced the upcoming opening of TheHaus, a private cigar room.
• Retired Lt. Col. Anthony Louis Watson is a native of Columbia, South Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting from South Carolina State College, graduating as a distinguished military graduate, and was commissioned into the U.S. Army as a field artillery officer in 1984. Watson served the Army and Army Reserves until his retirement in 2012. Watson had combat tours in Iraq with Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Watson received several awards and decorations including the Bronze Star Medal. He has served the SC State Army ROTC Program in several capacities including his current role as recruiting operation officer. As a civilian, Watson has received several honors, including the Department of the Army Achievement Medal for Civil Service (2nd Award), SC State Stellar Alumni Award (2023), SC State Army ROTC Hall of Fame Inductee (2017), SC State University Distinguished Service Award (2013), and Voorhees College Mentor and Leader Award (2013).
• Dr. William Hine is the author of “South Carolina State University, a Black Land-Grant College in Jim Crowe America,” the definitive chronicle of the university’s history. Hine spent his entire teaching career at SC State. He began as an instructor in 1967-68, and he retired in 2012-13 as a Professor of History. He received his undergraduate degree from Ohio’s Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree from the University of Wyoming. He was awarded a Ph.D. in United States history from Kent State University.  Over the years, he taught a wide variety of history courses including U.S. history, South Carolina history, U. S. Military history, world civilizations, and the African American experience. Hine has published articles in numerous history journals and se is the co-author with Darlene Clark Hine and Stanley Harrold of “The African American Odyssey.” Now in its seventh edition, the Odyssey is the nation’s most widely used college textbook in African American history.
• Dr. Darlene Clark Hine is widely considered a founder in the field of Black women’s history. She received her bachelor's degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago, and her MA and Ph.D. from Kent State University. Her first teaching position was at South Carolina State College. She moved on to Purdue University and then to Michigan State University where she was the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of History. She established the Comparative Black History Ph.D. program at Michigan State. She was also the Board of Trustees Professor of African American Studies at Northwestern University. Her publications include “Black Victory: The Rise and Fall of the White Primary in Texas,” (1979), “Black Women in White: Racial Conflict and Cooperation in the Nursing Profession,” 1890-1950. (1989), “Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia” (co-editor, 1993), “Black Europe and the African Diaspora” (2009) and “The Black Chicago Renaissance” (2012). On July 28, 2014, President Barrack Obama honored her with the National Humanities Medal.