Dr. and Mrs. Tisdale to Serve as Grand Marshals of Orangeburg County Christmas Parade December 7

The parade will begin on Seaboard Street and march down Russell Street to Magnolia Street. This year’s theme is “Christmas in Our Town.” The parade will be held rain or shine.

The Tisdales were selected as the parade’s grand marshals in honor of their 20 years of visionary leadership at the University.

Since arriving on the Claflin campus in 1994, Kingstree native Dr. Tisdale, a 1965 Claflin graduate and the University’s eighth president, and Mrs. Tisdale, a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and director of the Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College, have indelibly made their mark.

Under Dr. Tisdale’s leadership, Claflin University has seen an increase in faculty with terminal degrees, federal funding for research, endowed scholarships, partnerships with other leading institutions, student enrollment and nationally accredited academic programs. The University has also enhanced student learning through its improved technological infrastructure.

Under his guidance, facilities across the Claflin campus have been added, improved or enhanced. To highlight a few, the new Student Residential Center, University Dining Center, Molecular Science Research Center, and the James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel were built; Legacy Plaza and the Arthur Rose Museum were established; and the Tingley Memorial Hall, Lee Library and Ministers’ Hall buildings were restored.

Under Mrs. Tisdale’s direction, the Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College has been strengthened and expanded to reflect Claflin's commitment to cultivating academically outstanding students. Measures were taken to enhance the honors students’ experience on every level to prepare them for success in graduate and professional schools, and as leaders in their profession and society at large.

The Tisdales serve on a number of boards and in several organizations. They attend Trinity United Methodist Church.

The opportunity to serve as parade grand marshals is not the first accolade the Tisdales have received this year. They were each presented with the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian honor, during the University’s Visionary Leadership Gala in Columbia in September, and were recognized by the South Carolina General Assembly in April. The Times and Democrat also recognized the Tisdales as its 2013 People of the Year last December.

The Christmas parade is presented by the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce and the City of Orangeburg.