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Glynn County proclaims honor for six Brunswick-born HBCU presidents
Summary
The Glynn County Board of Commissioners issued a proclamation recognizing six Brunswick natives who served as presidents of historically Black colleges and universities; Pastor Fields accepted the proclamation and detailed local research on the honorees.
The Glynn County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 20 issued a proclamation recognizing six Brunswick natives who later served as presidents of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The proclamation, read by the chair and entered onto the public agenda, names Jerry Hardy (former president of Paine College), Elias Blake Jr. (former president of Clark Atlanta University), Rufus Perry (former president of Johnson C. Smith University), William H. Dennis Jr. (former president of Albany State College), Timothy C. Myers (former interim president of Savannah State College) and Cornelius B. Truitt (noted as a former principal of Risley High School and later a president at Fort Valley State University). The commission added the proclamation to the public agenda and later presented it to Pastor Fields, who accepted on behalf of the honorees.
The county’s proclamation cites Glynn County’s role as the birthplace of the six leaders and commends their contributions to higher education. Pastor Fields described local research documenting the men’s ties to Brunswick, showed photographs to the commission, and said the recognition was “long overdue.” He noted one of the living honorees attended to receive a city proclamation the prior evening.
The presentation followed brief procedural motions to add the proclamation to the meeting agenda and to move several consent items. Commissioners asked the clerk to collect images of the six honorees to publish on the county website.
Why this matters: The proclamation is a ceremonial recognition of local history and educational leadership; the county said it will add related imagery and text to its website to preserve and publicize the honorees’ ties to Brunswick.
Details: The proclamation text (read into the record) lists the six named individuals and was dated February 2025; the commission placed the proclamation on the public agenda as item 0.5 before presenting it to Pastor Fields.
Looking ahead: County staff was asked to obtain digital photographs and brief biographical text for the website.
