Morris College Trustees Name Interim President

SUMTER, SC (courtesy The Sumter Item) — Morris College Board of Trustees has named Leroy Staggers, academic dean at the college, as interim president, effective July 1, as president Luns C. Richardson intends to retire on June 30.

Richardson, South Carolina’s longest sitting college president and United Negro College Fund’s longest member president, informed the board of trustees of his decision to retire as the president during a regular meeting on Oct. 29, 2016.

He will conclude his 43-year career with Morris College at 5 p.m. on June 30 according to a news release from the college.

Staggers, a Salters native and a graduate of C.E. Murray High School in Greelyville, earned an undergraduate degree from Voorhees College and earned both a master’s and a doctorate degree from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia.

According to a news release from the college, Staggers, who began working at Morris College in 1993, has dedicated nearly 24 years to the institution and has served 16 years as the academic dean.

Through his current position, Staggers is a prominent member of Richardson’s cabinet and is responsible for the supervision of all academic programs, full-time and part-time faculty members as well as all academic support instructional programs. Staggers also works closely with Richardson on all aspects of Morris College’s reaffirmation of accreditation efforts, including working hand in hand with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, states the release.

Prior to joining the Morris College family, Staggers served as vice president of academic affairs, associate professor of English and director of faculty development at Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina. Additionally, he has served as instructor of English and reading at Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama, and chairman of the division of humanities and assistant professor of English at Voorhees College in Denmark.

Also, Staggers completed the Harvard University Institute for Education Management program, which addresses the stewardship role played by senior-level leaders at their respective institutions.

Staggers is a member of Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church in Sumter where he has served five years as chairman of the board of trustees of Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church Christian and Academic School.