Alice Carson Tisdale

Alice Carson Tisdale, the retired first lady for whom the Claflin honors college is named, has died, the university announced Saturday evening. Mrs. Tisdale and her husband and Claflin's eighth president, Dr. Henry N. Tisdale, retired in 2019 after 25 years at the helm of the Orangeburg university. In raising Claflin to a nationally and regionally acclaimed university, Henry and Alice Tisdale always said they were a team. "We started talking before we got to Claflin. We knew that we could not successfully uplift Claflin and take it to the next level without the both of us. He was so into the academic part of Claflin and raising the standards and so forth, and I was too. That's how the honors college came about, but there were also other areas that I was interested in," Mrs. Tisdale said in 2019. The Times and Democrat selected the couple as T&D Person of the Year in 2013, the only time in the 11 years of the honor that two people have been recognized. "Mrs. Tisdale played a pivotal role and joined her husband, President Emeritus Dr. Henry N. Tisdale, in shaping the 25-year success story of Claflin University," Claflin President Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack said. "Not only did Mrs. Tisdale help strengthen the academic profile of the university through the honors college, but she also displayed compassion, guidance, and kindness to hundreds of students who passed through the halls of Claflin. We are forever grateful for her visionary leadership." Mrs. Tisdale was director of the honors college, which the university's trustees named in her honor in 1996. "When I got here, we had 84 students in the honors program. It was called an honors program back then. We now have over 250 students. We raised the standards for admission into the honors college as well as across the board. We looked at recruitment strategies," Mrs. Tisdale said in 2019. During her tenure, the graduation and retention rate of Alice Carson Tisdale Honors College students surpassed 80% and produced the university's first-ever Truman Scholar. Honors college students have been selected for the J. William Fulbright, Thomas R. Pickering, Gates Millennium and other national scholarships and awards. Mrs. Tisdale also was proud of other initiatives: the annual Presidential Scholarship Gala, which recognizes and supports the university's Presidential Scholars, and the parting ceremony, which features freshmen walking through an Arch of Confidence as they embark upon their college journey. She was instrumental in the success of the First Lady's Hats and Gloves Scholarship Tea, which raises money for scholarships for Claflin students. At the 13th annual event in March 2019, Mrs. Tisdale revealed that she was being treated for breast cancer. "I want to confess to you this evening that life does indeed keep us busy and often presents us with many curves and challenges, some joyful, some not so joyful," she told the audience. "Such as been my case over the last three to four months. ... I have since been diagnosed with breast cancer. I have been in treatment for a time and trust me when I say that I am progressing well." The diagnosis did not diminish her optimism heading into retirement. "Having had plenty of time and opportunity to reflect, refocus and reset, I don't need sympathy or sorrow because I don't plan to sit around and do nothing. I plan to, in the words of Jill Scott, live my life like it's golden." Mrs. Tisdale said she and her husband always joked about which one really got the job as Claflin president. Dr. Tisdale was inaugurated as the university's eighth president on Oct. 14, 1995, under the theme "The Claflin Imperative: Building on Excellence." "It's funny because we interviewed before the board, I sat in there, too. And he gave this wonderful presentation and then they asked me to tell them a little bit about myself and if I had any remarks I'd like to make. I thought, 'Oh, God, I'm going to blow it for the man.' "But then the interesting thing was I just started talking. I didn't talk long, but I guess I said enough because when I finished, they all applauded. So to this day we joke about who really got the job. I say it's me, and he said it's him," she said. Mrs. Tisdale, a native of Montgomery, Ala., graduated from Wagner High School, Clark Air Base, Philippines and received her B.S. and M.Ed. degrees at Elizabeth City State University and Salisbury State University, respectively. Mrs. Tisdale lived in Delaware for decades before moving to Orangeburg. It was in Delaware where she began working with middle school students. In 1986, she received the District Teacher of the Year award while teaching in the Smyrna School District in Smyrna, Delaware. Before moving to Orangeburg in 1994, she taught in that district for 21 years. In 1991, she received the State Chamber of Commerce "Superstars! In Education Award" from the State of Delaware for innovative teaching strategies and later, the "NAACP Educator of the Year Award" from the Dover, Delaware, Central Branch of the NAACP. In 2011, she received the Community Service Award from the Delta Zeta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and was the recipient of the IMARA Magazine Community Service Award. She received the 2012 Education Award from the Orangeburg Branch of the NAACP. In September 2014, she received the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian award in the State of South Carolina, presented by former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. She had a ubiquitous presence on a slate of community boards and organizations. She served on the Governor's Mansion and Lace House Commission; board member, The Oaks; past national president and secretary/treasurer of the National Association of African American Honors Programs; past board chair of the Orangeburg County Salvation Army; and past board chair of the Orangeburg County Community of Character. She was also a member and co-founder/director of the "Praise Kids" children's Christian Theater at Trinity United Methodist Church in Orangeburg. Mrs. Tisdale was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church. She also was a member of the Beta Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., the Orangeburg Chapter of the Links Inc. and The Girl Friends Inc. (Columbia Chapter). She is survived by her husband, Dr. Henry N. Tisdale; daughter, Dr. Danica Camille Tisdale Fisher and son-in-law, Dr. Damany Fisher; son, Brandon Keith Tisdale; two grandchildren, Asa Toure and Anansa Theodora Fisher; sisters, Sylvia L. Carson and Jacqueline Diaese Graves; a brother, Reginald D. Carson; and sister-in-law, Lola M. June. Considering the global pandemic, the family requests that friends refrain from visiting or sending flowers, gifts or food. Tributes can be made to the Alice Carson Tisdale Endowed Scholarship Fund at Claflin University, https://alumni.claflin.edu/alice-carson-tisdale or to the Alice Carson Tisdale and Henry N. Tisdale Endowed Scholarship Fund at Elizabeth City State University, 1704 Weeksville Road, Elizabeth City, NC 27909. The family will plan a public memorial at a later date. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc., Downtown Chapel