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

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

including 10 years at

Radford University Radford University is a public university in Radford, Virginia. 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 programs inclu ...

, 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 state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Born in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, 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. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-year program for te ...

Wilberforce, Ohio Wilberforce is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,271 at the 2010 census, up from 1,579 at the 2000 census. History After Wilberforce College was established in 1856, the community was a ...

, and earned master's and doctoral degrees at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1958 and 1966. He served as chancellor of

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as Slater Industrial Academy o ...

1977-84 and as president of

Alabama A&M University Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marsha ...

1984–87, and

Cheyney University Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a mem ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, 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, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

. 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 1,251 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a com ...

. 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

, 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