DR. PREZELL R. ROBINSON

DR. P.R. ROBINSON, ST. AUG

PRES. EMERITUS, DIES AT 105

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

Dr. Prezell Russell Robinson, the eighth president of St. Augustine’s University (SAU) in Raleigh, whose leadership is credited with transforming the small, private, Episcopalian HBCU during his long tenure, died on June 29th at 105 years old.

“Dr. Prezell Robinson’s legacy is woven into the very foundation of Saint Augustine’s University,” SAU Board of Trustees Chair Sophie Gibson said during Raleigh’s 36th Annual Black History Celebration last March. “For nearly three decades, his visionary leadership strengthened this institution and expanded opportunity for generations of students.”

“His life is a powerful reminder of the transformative impact of education and the enduring role historically Black colleges and universities play in advancing opportunity, leadership, and service,” added interim President Dr. Jennie Ward-Robinson.

Dr. Robinson was a proud alumna of SAU, having graduated in 1946 (when it was St. Augustine’s College). The Batesburg, SC. native initially graduated from Voorhees School and Junior College in Denmark, S.C.  before going on to St. Aug, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and social science. He later became a dean and sociology professor at St. Aug between 1956 and 1964, later appointed executive dean, and then acting president in June 1966.

Eight months later, Dr, Robinson became president, seeing from 1967 to 1995.

According to the African-American Registry, Dr. Robinson “…was voted one of three outstanding teachers at Saint Augustine’s in 1961-62, was awarded a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to India in 1965, and was selected as one of 20 college presidents in the “100 Most Effective Presidents of America” in 1986. Robinson has received 11 honorary degrees. When Robinson retired after 28 years as president in 1995, he had achieved his goal of taking a small and largely unknown historically black college and transforming it into a nationally known institution and one of the best colleges of its size in North Carolina.”

The Registry continued, “He was an energetic fundraiser responsible for the endowment at St. Augustine, increasing from less than one million to nineteen million dollars. In 1988, he was voted by his peers as one of the most effective college presidents in the United States. In 1992, President George Bush appointed him as an alternate delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. He was nominated for the same post by President Bill Clinton in 1996. For many years, he has been selected by the U.S. State Department and the Department of Education to lecture and assist in educational endeavors in Africa, the Caribbean, and the People's Republic of China. Regarded as an eminent scholar...he received 11 honorary degrees from leading colleges and universities, including his alma mater, Voorhees College and Saint Augustine.”

The National Alumni Association of SAU, Inc. said, “During his remarkable 28-year presidency, he strengthened academic programs, reinforced the University’s accreditation, modernized campus facilitates, expanded educational opportunities, and helped prepare generations of students for lives of leadership, service, and excellence.”

“When people ask me about my father, they often talk about his accomplishments, nearly three decades he served as President of Saint Augustine’s, the academic programs he expanded, the buildings he modernized, and the accreditation he strengthened,” Ms JeSanne Robinson Johnson, Class of ’88 and Dr. Robinson’s daughter, said. 

Public visitation will be held from 6 to 8 pm Friday, July 10th at SAU Chapel, 1315 Oakwood Ave in Raleigh.

Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, July 11th at St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, 813 Darby St. in Raleigh. Interment follows at Montlawn Memorial Park.

As the Falcon community mourns the passing of its legendary leader emeritus, SAU today remains in federal bankruptcy court, trying to workout an arrangement to pay back at least $74 million in outstanding debts to more than 300 unsecured creditors. The school currently has no students on campus, and at its last bankruptcy hearing June 30th, the bankruptcy administrator said in court that that he does not see a way for SAU to pay off its debts unless it sells off some of its 105 acre property. Attorneys for SAU will be back in bankruptcy court July 28th.

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