Morris College President Dr. Luns Richardson Announces June 2017 Retirement

SUMTER, SC — South Carolina’s longest sitting college president and the United Negro College Fund’s (UNCF) longest member president, Dr. Luns C. Richardson, informed the board of trustees at its fall meeting on October 29, 2016 of his decision to retire as the president of Morris College. Effective June 30, 2017, he will conclude a remarkable and distinguished career of 43 years of excellent leadership, dedicated service to higher education at the institution, as well as the state and nation.

After June 30, the board will name an interim president and begin the process to select the tenth president of Morris College.

Since being elected the college’s ninth president in 1974, Dr. Richardson has worked tirelessly to maintain financial stability, increase student enrollment, initiate new academic majors, organize divisions, secure accreditation of academic programs, expand the college’s technological infrastructure and establish an Army ROTC unit (under the auspices of the University of South Carolina, Columbia). Under his leadership, Morris College was the only historically black institution selected among eight pilot schools to participate in the development of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ (SACSCOC) new Principles of Accreditation.

In December 1978, the college was accredited by SACSCOC. In January 1982, the college was accepted into the United Negro College Fund as a member institution. In January 2010, the college received for the first time its history its largest, most generous, individual gift of $10 million from Dr. Solomon Jackson, Jr.

Other accomplishments include: upgrading full-time faculty to 72% holding earned doctorate degrees; increasing the annual operating budget to more than $21 million, increasing the college’s total assets to more than $60 million, constructing 18 new buildings, and the renovating and expanding of all other buildings.

Dr. Richardson holds membership in numerous professional, religious and fraternal organizations, including numerous positions with SACSCOC and UNCF. After 56 years as pastor of Thankful Baptist Church (Bamberg, SC), he retired with the title Pastor Emeritus and will hold the same honor with Morris College as President Emeritus. The institution has been extremely fortunate to have had the continuity of his dynamic leadership.

Morris College is an accredited, four year, coeducational, residential, liberal arts and career-focused institution awarding baccalaureate degrees in the arts and sciences and in career-based professional fields. Founded in 1908, it is owned and operated by the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina. Additional information about Morris College is available at www.morris.edu.

Contact Anika V. Cobb, Morris College Director of Public Relations, for further information (phone: 803-894-3168, email: acobb@morris.edu).