27 Notable alumni of South Carolina State University
Updated: June 12, 2026 EliteDegrees
South Carolina State University is ranked #3,037 in the world and #790 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 27 notable alumni from South Carolina State University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with South Carolina State University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Doris Funnye Innis
1933-2015 (aged 82)
writer
human rights defender
Doris Valdena Funnye Innis was an American writer, editor and educator, significantly in the area of civil rights. She was the editor of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) publications Rights and Reviews and CORE Magazine in the early 1970s and again in the 1980s.
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2. Andrew Hugine, Jr
1949-. (aged 77)
academic
Andrew Hugine Jr. is an American educator and academic administrator serving as the 11th president of Alabama A&M University. On June 26, 2009, his hiring for the role was authorised. Hugine's contract was renewed by the AAMU Board of Trustees to 2023 on June 22, 2018. Hugine was formerly president of South Carolina State University, his alma mater.
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3. Henry Doctor, Jr
1932-2007 (aged 75)
military officer
Lieutenant General Henry Doctor Jr. was the Commanding General, 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth United States Army, based in South Korea. His last assignment was as The Inspector General of the U.S. Army.
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4. Maxcine Young
1907-2000 (aged 93)
politician
Maxcine Young was an American politician.
5. Clifford L. Stanley
1947-. (aged 79)
military officer
Clifford Lee Stanley was the United States Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, having resigned that office in 2011.
6. Jay Joyner
basketball player
basketball coach
Jay Joyner is an American college basketball coach and former head coach for the North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball team.
7. K'zell Wesson
1977-. (aged 49)
basketball player
K'Zell Ray Wesson is an American former professional basketball player. He is 6 ft 7.5 in (2.019 m) in height and he weighs 242 lbs. (110 kg). He plays the position of power forward-center.
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8. Ron Westray
1970-. (aged 56)
composer
jazz musician
Ronald Kenneth Westray Jr. is an American jazz trombonist, composer, and educator. He holds a B.A. from South Carolina State University and a Master of Arts degree from Eastern Illinois University. He has played with Marcus Roberts, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (since its inception in 1993), and has been a regular member of the Mingus Big Band. In 2005...
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9. Roderick Blakney
1976-. (aged 50)
basketball player
Roderick Bertrand Blakney is an American-born naturalized Bulgarian former professional basketball player.
10. Gene Richards
1953-. (aged 73)
baseball player
Eugene Richards Jr. is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. He played eight seasons in the Majors, from 1977 until 1984, for the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. As a rookie with San Diego in 1977, he set a modern-day MLB rookie single-season record for stolen bases.
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11. Tom Boswell
1953-. (aged 73)
basketball player
Tommy G. Boswell is a retired American professional basketball player.
12. Oliver Pough
American football player
Oliver Wendell "Buddy" Pough III is an American former college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at South Carolina State University, a position he held from 2002 until his retirement in 2023. He led the South Carolina State Bulldogs football team to eight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles, in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019,...
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13. Alma Levant Hayden
1927-1967 (aged 40)
chemist
Alma Levant Hayden was an American chemist, and one of the first African-American women to gain a scientist position at a science agency in Washington, D.C. She joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the 1950s. Hayden graduated from Howard University with a master's degree in chemistry, and became an expert in spectrophotometry. She published work on infrared and...
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14. Matthew J. Perry
1921-2011 (aged 90)
lawyer
judge
Matthew James Perry Jr. was an attorney and in 1979 appointed as the first African-American United States district judge in South Carolina, serving on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. In 1976, he had been the first African-American attorney from the Deep South to be appointed to the federal judiciary when he served on the...
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15. Donald W. Beatty
1952-. (aged 74)
lawyer
judge
politician
Donald Wayne Beatty is a former chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court and a former South Carolina state court judge and state representative.
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16. Willie Aikens
1954-. (aged 72)
baseball player
Willie Mays Aikens is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays between 1977 and 1985. He had established himself as one of the top sluggers in the game before drugs derailed his career. In 1994, Aikens was sentenced to 20 years in prison...
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17. Houston Person
1934-. (aged 92)
saxophonist
recording artist
jazz musician
Houston Person is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the "Eubie Blake Jazz Award" in 1982.
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18. Stephen Twitty
1963-. (aged 63)
soldier
Stephen M. Twitty is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army. Twitty assumed command of First United States Army on July 15, 2016, relinquishing command to become deputy commander of United States European Command on 9 August 2018. Previously, he was commanding general of Fort Bliss and the 1st Armored Division. Twitty was awarded the Silver Star during...
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19. Rafael Bush
1987-. (aged 39)
American football player
Rafael Bush is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina State Bulldogs and was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He was also a member of the Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, and Buffalo Bills.
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20. Donnie Shell
1952-. (aged 74)
American football player
Donnie Shell is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) between 1974 and 1987. Shell was a member of the Steelers famed Steel Curtain defense in the 1970s.
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21. Armstrong Williams
1959-. (aged 67)
journalist
radio personality
Armstrong Williams is an American political commentator, entrepreneur, author, and talk show host. Williams writes a nationally syndicated conservative newspaper column, has hosted a daily radio show, and hosts a nationally syndicated television program called The Armstrong Williams Show. He is the owner of Howard Stirk Holdings, a media company affiliated with Sinclair Broadcasting that has purchased numerous television stations.
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22. Marion Motley
1920-1999 (aged 79)
American football player
Marion Motley was an American professional football fullback and linebacker who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). He was a leading pass-blocker and rusher in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and ended his career with an average of 5.7 yards per carry, a record for running backs that...
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23. Jim Clyburn
1940-. (aged 86)
employment counsellor
teacher
chief executive officer
politician
James Enos Clyburn is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 6th congressional district. First elected in 1992, Clyburn is in his 17th term, representing a congressional district that includes most of the majority-black precincts in and around Columbia and Charleston, as well as most of the majority-black areas outside Beaufort and nearly all of South...
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24. Kára McCullough
1991-. (aged 35)
model
beauty pageant contestant
physicist
chemist
Kára McCullough Temple is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2017. As Miss USA, McCullough represented the United States at Miss Universe 2017, where she placed in the Top 10.
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25. Ernest Everett Just
1883-1941 (aged 58)
marine biologist
biologist
university teacher
zoologist
Ernest Everett Just was a pioneering biologist, academic and science writer. Just's primary legacy is his recognition of the fundamental role of the cell surface in the development of organisms. In his work within marine biology, cytology and parthenogenesis, he advocated the study of whole cells under normal conditions, rather than simply breaking them apart in a laboratory setting.
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26. Benjamin Mays
1894-1984 (aged 90)
religious leader
pastor
writer
Benjamin Elijah Mays was an American Baptist minister and civil rights leader who is credited with laying the intellectual foundations of the American civil rights movement. Mays taught and mentored many influential activists, including Martin Luther King Jr, Julian Bond, Maynard Jackson, and Donn Clendenon, among others. His rhetoric and intellectual pursuits focused on Black self-determination. Mays' commitment to social...
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27. Joe Thomas
1991-. (aged 35)
American football player
Joseph Hayden Thomas is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 11 seasons with the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was recognized as the top college interior lineman.
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