This is a list of people associated with Shaw University, a historically black private college in Raleigh, North Carolina. It includes alumni, faculty, and presidents.
Notable alumni Academics James E. Cheek (B.A. 1955), president of Shaw University, president emeritus of Howard University, 1983 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom John O. Crosby (1914), founder and first president of North Carolina A&T State University N. L. Dillard, (B.A. 1928), educator and principal of Caswell County Training School (later Caswell County High School) James B. Dudley (A.B. 1881), professor and president of North Carolina A&T State University (1896–1925) Edward Hart Lipscombe (A.B. 1879, A.M. 1882), educator, minister, principal of the Western Union Institute Peter Weddick Moore (A.B. 1887), founder and first president of Elizabeth City Normal College (now Elizabeth City State University) William L. Pollard (B.A. 1967), president of the Medgar Evers College (2009–2013) Evelyn Pope (B.A.), Dean of Library Sciences at North Carolina Central University Charles L. Purce (A.B.), president of Selma University and Simmons College of Kentucky Benjamin Arthur Quarles (B.A. 1931), historian, administrator, scholar, educator, and writer James E. Shepard (A.B. 1894), founder and first president of North Carolina Central University Ezekiel Ezra Smith (A.B. 1878), president of Fayetteville State University and U.S. ambassador to Liberia (1888–1890)
Arts and entertainment Shirley Caesar (B.S. 1984), pastor and gospel music artist Kayden Carter (B.A. 2012), professional wrestler in WWE Gladys Knight (honorary doctorate), singer, Gladys Knight & the Pips, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Lords of the Underground (attended), hip-hop group founded in the early 1990s, when all three of its members were students attending Shaw
Business Celeste Beatty (1984), first black female brewery owner Willie Otey Kay (1912), prominent dressmaker in Raleigh Calvin E. Lightner (1907 or 1908), architect and mortician William Gaston Pearson (1886), prominent principal, colloquially referred to as "Durham's Black Superintendent", in Durham, NC, and co-founder of Mechanics & Farmers Bank Ida Van Smith (1939), one of the first African American female pilots and flight instructors in the US
Civil rights Ella Baker (1927), leader of SNCC and civil rights activist Max Yergan (1914), civil rights activist; Spingarn Medal recipient
Government Angie Brooks (B.S. 1949), first African female president of the United Nations General Assembly and associate justice to the National Supreme Court of Liberia Henry Plummer Cheatham (A.B. 1882), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives 1889–1893 Thomas O. Fuller, state senator of the North Carolina Senate in 1898 George H. Jackson, Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives 1892–1893 Edward A. Johnson (B.L. 1891), first African-American member of the New York state legislature when he was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1917 Luther Jordan (B.A. 1997), member of the North Carolina Senate 1993–2002 Vernon Malone (1953), Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly, 14th Senate district, including constituents in Wake County Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (D.D. 1934), congressman from New York, 1945–71 Rita Walters (1952), member of Board of Library Commissioners for the Los Angeles Public Library Charles D. Walton (B.A. 1971), first African-American member of the Rhode Island Senate James H. Young, prominent North Carolina politician and first African American to hold the rank of colonel in the United States of the volunteer regiment during the Spanish–American War
Law Willie E. Gary (B.A. 1971), one of the world's wealthiest attorneys, known as the "Whale Killer"; co-founder of the Black Family Channel Glenford Eckleton Mitchell (B.A. 1960), member of Universal House of Justice (1982–2008) Roger Demosthenes O'Kelly (B.L. 1909), lawyer, first deaf and black lawyer
Journalism Lenard Moore (B.A. 1980), first African American president of the Haiku Society of America Shelia P. Moses (B.A. 1983), best-selling author, nominated for the National Book Award and NAACP Image Award
Religion Richard Gene Arno, founder of the National Christian Counselors Association William R. Pettiford (1912 honorary), Birmingham, Alabama minister and banker Lucius Walker (1954), Baptist minister best known for his opposition to the United States embargo against Cuba
Science and medicine Clinton Caldwell Boone, physician, dentist, and minister John Eagles, pharmacy owner in Raleigh, North Carolina; son of John S. W. Eagles, sergeant in USCT, public official, and state legislator in North Carolina Louise Celia Fleming (1885), black medical missionary (1862–1899) John Walcott Kay (1912), prominent physician in Wilmington, co-founder of Community Hospital Aaron McDuffie Moore (1888), doctor and medical director Manassa Thomas Pope (1885), prominent physician in Raleigh; ran for mayor in 1919 Lawson A. Scruggs (1887), physician and civil rights activist John P. Turner (1906), surgeon, hospital administrator, and educator
Sports Charlie Brandon (1964), Grey Cup champion and all-star CFL football player Van Green (1973), NFL player Julius Gregory (2011), Arena Football League player Carrenza M. "Schoolboy" Howard, Negro Leagues pitcher Ronald "Flip" Murray (2002), professional basketball player James "Bonecrusher" Smith (B.A. 1975), first heavyweight boxing champion with a college degree
Notable faculty
Helen Asemota, Nigeria-born biochemist and agricultural biotechnologist; professor 2005–2012 Gaston Alonzo Edwards (1875–1943), African American architect, and educator; founded the building department
Presidents of Shaw University +Presidents of Shaw University (* indicates alumni)NameTenureNotesHenry Martin Tupper1865–1893Nicholas Franklin Roberts1893–1894 (acting)Chang, Derek. Citizens of a Christian Nation: Evangelical Missions and the Problem of Race in the Nineteenth Century. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. p147Charles Francis Meserve1894–1919Joseph Leishman Peacock1920–1931William Stuart Nelson1931–1936Robert Prentiss Daniel1936–1950William Russell Strassner1951–1962James Edward Cheek*1963–1969King Virgil Cheek*1969–1971J. Archie Hargraves1971–1977Stanley Hugh Smith1978–1986John Harding Lucas1986–1987 (interim)Talbert O. Shaw1988–2002Clarence G. Newsome2003–2009Dorothy Cowser Yancy2009–2010 (interim)Irma McClaurin2010–2011Dorothy Cowser Yancy2011–2013Gaddis Faulcon2013–2015 (interim)Tashni-Ann Dubroy*2015–2017Paulette Dillard2017–present
References