Clinton College’s Copeland awarded Order of the Silver Crescent

Elaine Copeland knew something was going on when she got called away from her granddaughter’s volleyball tournament.

The president of Clinton College was traveling with the girl’s team in Myrtle Beach over the long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, so she hadn’t planned to attend Rock Hill’s annual prayer breakfast honoring the late civil rights leader.

But the school’s board insisted she return for the trip in time to appear at First Baptist Church for the event Monday morning.

“I knew they were going to do something,” Copeland said.

“Something” turned out to be awarding the long-time educator and Catawba native the Order of the Silver Crescent, South Carolina’s highest award for community service.

State Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, presented the award to Copeland at the end of the breakfast on Martin Luther King Day, reading the proclamation from Gov. Nikki Haley recognizing Copeland’s work.

“She has a long life devoted to education,” Hayes said afterward. “She took (Clinton) from a junior college to a four-year school, she expanded the subjects and majors, and put it on a sound financial footing.”

Comparing her to former Winthrop President Anthony DiGiorgio, Hayes said that like DiGiorgio, Copeland “devoted a considerable amount of time and energy to it. She had a vision, and she’s seen it through.”

Copeland called receiving the order “a humbling experience.”

“I’m a servant leader,” she said. “I want everybody to be able to get to where I am.”

This story was originally published January 18, 2016 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Clinton College’s Copeland awarded Order of the Silver Crescent."