C of C's first black graduate to speak
More than 700 College of Charleston students will graduate at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 16 at the North Charleston Coliseum.
This year is the 40th anniversary of the integration of the college, and the graduates will hear from Eddie Lee Ganaway, the first black graduate (Class of 1971).
Ganaway grew up in Charleston Heights in the Daniel Jenkins housing complex, with dreams of attending the college, which he saw as an oasis in the middle of the city. He wasn't the first black student accepted, but after struggling initially at the College of Charleston, he gained confidence and became the face of integration, even running for student government president in 1970.
Ganaway went on to Duke University's graduate history program and then taught history at Illinois State University and South Carolina State College before a 21-year career as a claims adjuster for Allstate Insurance. Now retired, Ganaway says, "The college has been as influential in my life as anything I've ever done."
In addition to Ganaway's speech, former College of Charleston President Theodore Stern will present Ganaway with an honorary degree. Stern also presented Ganaway with his undergraduate degree from the college.
Joyce Long Darby and Mary Ellen Long Way also will receive honorary degrees at the ceremony. Both are grandchildren of Albert Sottile, for whom both the Sottile House and Sottile Theatre, on College of Charleston campus, are named. Their degrees will be presented by College of Charleston President P. George Benson.
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