George Cooper, the executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the former president of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, died in Maryland on July 18. Dr. Cooper served as president of South Carolina State University from 2008 to 2012.
W. Franklin Evans, interim president of South Carolina State University, issued a statement which said that Dr. Cooper “was instrumental in advancing progressive initiatives that served as the framework to strengthen the university and reaffirm its mission as a public land-grant university committed to enhancing the quality of lives for all citizens. He also envisioned the university as a formidable model amongst the best institutions of higher learning in the world.”
President Obama added in a statement, “George’s passing is a great loss for my administration, the HBCU and higher education communities and for everyone that knew him.”
Dr. Cooper was a native of Tallahassee, Florida. He graduated from Florida A&M University and earned a master’s degree in animal science at Tuskegee University. Dr. Cooper held a Ph.D. in animal nutrition from the university of Illinois.
