“The drums of Africa still beat in my heart.

They will not let me rest while there is a single

Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth.” — Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune (born on July 10, 1875 in Mayesville, SC)

Our President

Dr. M. Maceo Nance Jr.
MARCH 28, 1926-MARCH 23, 2001

Dr. Milligan Maceo Nance Jr. was born March 28, 1926 in Columbia, South Carolina. In 1942, he enrolled at South Carolina State on a trumpet scholarship.

He served in the U.S. Navy, fighting during WWII from 1943-1946. After his military service, he returned to SC State in 1946 and earned his bachelor's in English. He later became employed at the College, working in the ROTC Supply Room. He soon married his college sweetheart, Julia Washington. In 1953, he earned a master's degree from New York University.

Dr. Nance quickly advanced in his professional career at SC State, rising in the ranks from bookstore clerk to director of the Student Center to assistant business manager before being appointed business manager in 1959.

Dr. Nance became acting president of South Carolina State on June 24, 1967. He was named the college's fifth president one year later, on June 23, 1968.