South Carolina State University Trustees Selects New President

Photo: Tallahassee, Florida native George Everett Cooper, Ph.D., earned his Bachelor’s degree, Florida A&M University; master’s degree, Tuskegee University; doctorate, University of Illinois, Urbana. Dr. Cooper currently serves as the deputy administrator for Science and Education Resources Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

South Carolina State University's Board of Trustees voted unanimously Friday to hire George Cooper as the school's next president. Cooper, deputy administrator for Science and Education Resources Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was selected from among three finalists for the top post at the state's only public historically black university. Cooper has worked in various positions for the Department of Agriculture since 1991.

The board discussed the finalists for about 90 minutes Friday in a closed-door session at a retreat in Charleston. "There was lots of discussion" among board members about the finalists, "but Cooper was the clear front-runner," Chairman Maurice Washington said.

"I am honored to be selected as the 10th President of S.C. State University," Cooper said in a news release from the school Friday. "I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and stakeholders as we together movetowards academic excellence. It is my intent to establish a creative and participatory campus environment as we embark on defining S.C. State's future."

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THE COOPER PROFILE

At the USDA: Coordinates $140 million in grants in education, research and extension for land-grant universities and other institutions; held several positions at the Department of Agriculture since 1991.

Previous career: Professor of animal science, Alabama A&M University, Normal, Ala., where he taught graduate students and supervised graduate research in animal science; executive assistant to the president of Alabama A&M, 1988-89; vice president for academic affairs, 1985-88; taught and was a dean at Tuskegee University in Alabama, 1978-85.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry, Florida A&M University; master’s degree animal science, Tuskegee University; doctorate, animal nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana. Dr. Cooper graduated from Tallahassee's Lincoln High School and his parents were educators in Leon County (Florida) schools.

Family: Wife, Diane Delois Shaw; children, Nikki Angela Cooper, Carey Allison Cooper. Dr. Cooper is the oldest of three boys.

Hobbies: Photography, cooking, golf, reading and genealogy.

Community: Vice-chairman of the deacons board and Sunday School teacher, People’s Community Baptist Church, Silver Spring, MD.