History & Meeting Info

The history of the Atlanta Alumni Chapter is a storied one with many significant events, influential people, and so much more that has shaped 50 years of a Bulldog legacy of service and excellence in Atlanta. In support of the many initiatives of the National Alumni Association of South Carolina State University, in 1968, the seed was planted for the formation of a local alumni chapter in Atlanta. The chapter would be composed of alumni residing in the metro Atlanta area.

As the formation of the chapter got underway, Dr. Richard Waymer (Alumna Willie Mae McLeod's Education Professor) provided Alumna Willie Mae McLeod with a roster of SCSC alumni, to begin the outreach to the many alumni residing in metro Atlanta. There were alumni living throughout Atlanta, with a large number residing in Southwest Atlanta.

Alumna Willie Mae McLeod met with Alumnus Clyde Reese, Alumnus Switzon Wigfall, and Alumnus Herbert Dodd Jr. to determine how to reach an even greater population of SCSU alumni living in Atlanta. Following this meeting, a mass mailing was sent, inviting alumni to the first meeting. Alumna McLeod would become the first corresponding secretary and Alumnus Wigfall was selected as the first president. The first meetings were held at the Wigfalls' home. Other meeting locations included the homes of Wigfall, Reese, Dr. Wesley S. Wilborn, and Herbert Dodd at libraries in South Atlanta and at the Morris Brown Student Center.

As meetings were underway, Alumna Willie Mae McLeod and Alumnus Charles Harrison met with Alumnus Joseph Jones, Esq., to prepare a charter which formed the Atlanta Alumni Chapter officially and legally. As the chapter continued to grow its membership, the efforts of alumni to obtain a charter continued. With additional guidance provided by Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, on March 29, 1973, the charter was granted to The Atlanta Chapter, South Carolina State College Alumni Association Incorporated.