It was my pleasure to be present at the John Hurst Adams Gymnatorium on Tuesday, February 14th, commemorating the One Hundred Forty-Second Anniversary of the Founding of Allen University. Allen University was founded in 1870 in Cokesbury, South Carolina, to teach newly freed slaves and to educate Black American teachers and clergy. The school was initially named Payne Institute after Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne, the founder of Wilberforce University. In 1880, the college was renamed Allen University in honor of Bishop Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and relocated to Columbia, South Carolina. Allen University is South Carolina’s first, and one of the nations first Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU) to be founded by Black Americans for the education of Black Americans.

Reverend William D Whatley, Ph.D., the Senior Pastor of historic Saint Philip African Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia was the featured speaker who delivered an emotionally moving sermon built around a theme of keeping your head up as we navigate our way through the "Jungle of Life". Dr Whatley has preached on the continents of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America in addition to the island nations of Cuba, Barbados, Bermuda, and Trinidad; and lived up to his reputation as a preacher par excellence. This year’s Founders Day event was also note worthy as one year has passed since the Allen University Board of Trustees unanimously elected Dr Pamela Martin Wilson, Ph.D. as the 24th President of Allen University, making her the first women to serve in that position in the schools 142 year history. (Sylvia Swinton served as interim President in Mid-Eighties).

Pamela Martin Wilson was born in Fairfield County into the family of Robert and Louise Martin. She wasn’t born into wealth, but she was rich with love and the comfort of knowing that all of their basic needs would be met. Her parents were non-high school graduates; both were hard workers, (her father worked at the local rock quarry) and were strong proponents of education; and always required that she and her sibling made good grades. So it is somewhat surprising that when Pamela graduated from Fairfield Central High School in 1988 ranked number 6th academically in her class, that she did not apply to any colleges or seek any scholarship opportunities. Her decision to not seek higher education was motivated by her unwillingness to place the financial burden of paying for college onto the backs of her parents.

Instead she decided to get a job driving a school bus. To make a long story short, it wasn’t long before she realized that she was too smart to be peddling around "going nowhere slowly", and instinctively knew that it was time to go to college.

From these humble beginnings and this delayed start to her academic pursuits, the academic odyssey of Wilson began at Voorhees, with her receiving a Bachelor of Arts in English Communication. From there she moved on to Indiana State University, where she received her Masters of Arts in English and American Literature. Then it was on to "The" Ohio State University where she received a Doctor of Philosophy in English with an emphasis in Rhetoric and Composition and a concentration in Business and Administrative Communication. Dr. Wilson arrived at Allen in 2006, and before acceding to the presidency, she served Allen as a Chairperson for the division of Humanities and Social Science, and as Associate Vice President for Academic and student affairs, as well as Executive Vice President.

Dr. Wilson is an inspirational, strategic and visionary leader superbly qualified to lead Allen University’s charge into the 21st Century.