Paine College to Celebrate Life and Legacy of President Emeritus, Dr. Julius S. Scott, Jr.

Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones, Acting President, announced that the Paine College Family will celebrate the life and legacy of the late Dr. Julius Samuel Scott, Jr., President Emeritus, on Friday, August 23rd at 11:00 am in the Gilbert-Lambuth Memorial Chapel. The memorial service will be open to the public. Media and visitors are urged to arrive early. Parking will be available in parking lots of the Chapel and HEAL Complex. Doors of the Sanctuary will open at 10:00 am. Retired Bishop Alfred L. Norris will give the eulogy.

President Jones reflected upon Dr. Scott’s legacy at Paine. “We are grateful for Dr. Scott’s many contributions to higher education in general and to Paine College in particular. He is the only president to have served two terms in that office at Paine College (1975-1982 and 1988-1994). During his terms as President of Paine, he positively impacted enrollment, the work of Academic Affairs, Fiscal Affairs, Religious Life, Student Life and Institutional Advancement. Because of Dr. Scott’s love for the College, he remained connected in many ways through the years. He will be missed by the Paine College Family.”

Dr. Scott and his wife Ianthia (Ann) called Hilton Head, SC their home and recently celebrated 65 years of marriage with their children present. The Texas native who left retirement numerous times, continued to follow in his father’s footsteps, who was both a Methodist minister and a college president. In Hilton Head, he was a founding member of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee, a trustee of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, and a consultant to the Native Island Business and Cultural Affairs Association. Although he never served as pastor of a church he was known to declare that he served God through his work in higher education. He was elected as pastor emeritus for St. Andrew By-The-Sea United Methodist Church of Hilton Head and Bluffton.

Dr. Scott served as a teacher, administrator, president and CEO of several institutions. He taught at Brown University, Atlanta University and at Spelman College. He served as a chaplain at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Texas Southern University and Brown, and led Paine College, Albany State University, the Medical College of Georgia, and his Alma Mater Wiley College as President and CEO. Of note, his father, Rev. Dr. Julius S. Scott, Sr., served as ninth president of Wiley College.

Dr. Scott’s achievements resulted in many awards, honors, resolutions, plaques, almost too numerous to mention. He held 14 honorary degrees and is a Boston University Distinguished Alumnus. He earned multiple degrees from Wiley College (Texas), Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Illinois), Brown University (Rhode Island), and a doctorate from Boston University (Massachusetts).

Dr. Scott’s work crossed over oceans and continents. He became one of the founders of Africa University in Zimbabwe, an accomplishment for which he received an Africa University Drum Award, set aside by the University for outstanding philanthropists. Dr. Scott joined many individuals and churches in raising the funds to underwrite Africa University and in 1992, the efforts of Dr. Scott and others were rewarded when the University opened its doors to 40 students. Today, Africa University has over 1,500 students. His interest in non-violent peaceful protest led him to India to study the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, and after leaving the seminary, he served three years as a teacher and missionary in Hyderabad, India.

Some of his service roles include having served on the boards of the United Negro College Fund, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the University Senate of the United Methodist Church.

A member of Epsilon Mu Boule, Sigma Pi Phi and Omega Psi Phi Fraternities, Dr. Scott will be remembered as a community leader, an advocate for HBCUs, equal access to a college education, and a bridge-builder.

In lieu of flowers, the Scott Family requests memorial donations be made to Penn Center, St. Helena Island, SC or to Paine College for the Pipe Organ Restoration Campaign. Donations, payable to Paine College, can be made online at www.paine.edu or mailed to: The Office of Institutional Advancement, c/o Paine College, 1235 Fifteenth Street, Augusta, GA 30901. For more information, please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 706.821.8233, or contact Vice President Helene Carter at Hcarter@paine.edu.