Each week in February, in observance of Black History Month, The Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald Journal and Anderson Independent Mail will profile South Carolina's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This is part of a project that will conclude on March 2 with a look at the state of HBCUs in South Carolina.
To those who grew up in Rock Hill, the city’s sole historically Black college was known as Clinton Junior College – a small campus of brick buildings in the Southside of Rock Hill.
In the past decade, the college dropped the “Junior” from its title by offering four-year programs, built an online program for students in six weeks at the beginning of the pandemic and offered free tuition for students for the 2021-2022 school year.
Now, with new buildings and growth planned, Clinton College is looking to become a catalyst for investment in Rock Hill’s Southside, an area known to be a food and health care desert.
“We think it’s one of the best kept secrets in South Carolina,” Clinton President Lester McCorn said. “We gotta get that secret out.”
Attending an HBCU is about culture, excellence
For Clinton College junior Miles Jones, attending an HBCU is all about the culture: the history, the dancing, Greek life.
“I think attending an HBCU means you’re learning about Black culture and the backgrounds and history,” Jones said. “The cultural aspect is important.”
Jones found that at Clinton, along with peers and professors who want the best for him. Those factors along with affordability and proximity to his Fort Mill home solidified his decision.
McCorn graduated from Morehouse College, also an HBCU.
“They gave me a chance. I had no money,” McCorn said. “I was first generation, so I had no one in my family who had been to college. And Morehouse literally transformed my life.”
What changed his life, he said, was the greatness he saw every day. He remembers weekly assemblies where notable speakers and alumni would speak, and he would leave feeling inspired. McCorn has implemented a similar program at Clinton.
Clinton College is a family, McCorn said. He treats the students as members of a village.
“Clinton really is a village, we are. We’ve now latched on to this term, beloved community,” McCorn said. “You know, that's what Dr. King talked a lot about, building the beloved community. That has to do with respect and love and care and concern for your brothers and your sisters.”
Free tuition during COVID-19
Thanks to stimulus funds from the federal government targeting vulnerable higher education institutions, donations and grants, Clinton College offered free tuition for students for the 2021-2022 school year.
“It was a way to fulfill our mission, because our students, our student population is 95% Pell Grant eligible, which means that their expected family contribution is pretty much zero,” McCorn said. “They come from very challenging situations, but they want to get a good education to their credit, they've been pushing through to get an education.”
“We wanted to relieve that burden in COVID, because they had a whole lot of other burdens.”
In the first year of the pandemic, Clinton saw students drop out or take a gap year due to students not having an in-person class option. The free tuition offered in 2021 reversed that.
“We were able to recover many of the students who were here prior,” McCorn said. “So it was sort of a retention strategy.”
For Jones, a business administration student, online school was an adjustment.
“I know the first time around online it was kind of a scramble just trying to make sure you’re keeping your grades in order and classes in order,” Jones said.
In spring 2022, the college also saw new enrollment increase by 50%.
“It’s extraordinary, especially at HBCUs to keep that number of students from semester to semester,” McCorn said. “So almost all of the students in the fall who were here came back, and then we added another 50% of student enrollment in the spring.”
The future of Clinton and reinvestment in south side Rock Hill, SC
For the future, McCorn would like to see $225 million invested in the Southside of Rock Hill as part of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) that gives government money or tax breaks to subsidize development.
The Carolina Panthers received $225 million to build a training facility in Rock Hill. McCorn doesn’t see why his college and the Southside should get any less.
“We made the argument that you can't give more to the Panthers than you give to us,” McCorn said. “And it worked.”
The City of Rock Hill greenlighted the funding but for TIF district approval the Southside still needs buy in from York County and Rock Hill School District 3.
With funding, McCorn is looking forward to seeing the following changes at Clinton College:
A 60,000-square foot performing arts and athletic center
200 new parking spaces
A new residence hall
A new dining hall
A new academic success center
A president’s house
A chapel
McCorn is impressed with the city’s investment into Clinton College, he said.
“Rock Hill has a sordid history around race relations,” McCorn said. “And I think great progress has been made.”
Fast facts about Clinton College
Clinton College was established during Reconstruction in 1894 to eradicate illiteracy among freedmen.
The Christian school was established by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and is named for Bishop Caleb Isom Clinton.
Clinton College began offering four-year programs in 2013 after receiving approval from the Transnational Association for Christian Colleges and Schools.
The school offers programs in business administration, early childhood development, liberal arts, religious studies, natural sciences and biology.
Tuition for the 2021-2022 school year is free but a typical year of school costs about $10,000.
Clinton College celebrated its 125th birthday in 2019.
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