Harold Douglas Covington (1935-2012) served as chancellor or president of several universities in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

including 10 years at

Radford University Radford University is a public university in Radford, Virginia, United States. It is one of the state's eight doctorate-granting public universities. Founded in 1910, Radford offers curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, graduate ...

, where he was the first African-American president of a predominantly white state-owned university in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Born in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, he moved with his family to Ohio, where he graduated from historically Black,

Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-y ...

in Wilberforce, Ohio, and earned master's and doctoral degrees at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1958 and 1966. He served as chancellor of Winston-Salem State University 1977-84 and as president of

Alabama A&M University Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M or AAMU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. It was one of about 180 " normal s ...

1984–87, and Cheyney University in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, 1992–95. He also was a vice president at

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

. He was the fifth president of Radford, serving from 1995 to 2005, and was a tenured professor of psychology and education. After retirement, he briefly served as interim president of Emory & Henry College in

Emory, Virginia Emory is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,237 at the 2020 census down from 1,251 at the 2010 census. The community is named for and is the location of Emory and Henry College. It ...

. In 2008, Radford named a new performing arts building the Douglas and Beatrice Covington Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. The H. Douglas & Beatrice M. Covington Endowed Scholarship in the Performing Arts is also named after the couple. At Winston-Salem State University, Covington Hall, a co-ed living and learning community building, is named after him. He was WSSU's chancellor from 1977 to 1984, and is credited with raising funds for student scholarships and strengthening the nursing program. The Ohio State library holds his thesis and dissertation: "A comparative study of students' acquisition of information presented in comic form and that presented in prose," 1958, M.A. thesis. "A comparative study of children's perceptions of parental acceptance and their educational success," 1966, Ph.D. dissertation. A collection of his speeches and other papers is preserved at Radford University's McConnell Library.

References

External links

* https://swvaroots.com/covington-dr-douglas/ * https://journalnow.com/news/local/douglas-covington-former-wssu-chancellor-dies-at-77/article_f6ee8e95-e9ab-5b88-8007-97e127ec6f80.amp.html * https://www.wssu.edu/student-life/housing-and-residence-life/campus-housing/covington-residence-hall.html * https://www.jbhe.com/2012/06/in-memoriam-h-douglas-covington-1935-2012/ * https://www.radford.edu/content/radfordcore/home/news/releases/2012/june/covington-tribute.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Covington, Douglas 1935 births 2012 deaths Radford University faculty Ohio State University alumni Cheyney University of Pennsylvania faculty