FAMU Alum will serve as SC State University’s 10th President

Florida A&M University alum George Cooper was recently elected as the 10th president of South Carolina State University (SC State University), after a unanimous vote by the university’s Board of Trustees.

“I am honored to be selected as the 10th President of SC State University,” said Cooper. “I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and stakeholders as we together move towards academic excellence.”

Cooper, a 1967 graduate with a bachelor’s in animal husbandry, was selected from among three others to serve in the top position at South Carolina’s only public historically black college or university (HBCU).

Before returning to higher education as SC State University’s 10th president, Cooper served as a professor and dean at Tuskegee University; a professor and vice president for academic affairs at Alabama A&M University; a principal animal nutritionist and coordinator of strategic planning; national program leader in cooperative state research; and deputy administrator in the partnerships unit at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Cooper earned his Ph.D. in animal nutrition from the University of Illinois, Urbana and master’s degree in animal science from Tuskegee University.

Interim President Leonard A. McIntyre, Ph.D., will remain in office until July 2008 when Cooper arrives.