Joseph Vaughn Oratorical Competition

"Building Bridges: Fostering Unity in a Divided World.”

On February 2, 1965, four African-Americans enrolled at Furman. Three were graduate students in education; the other was freshman Joe Vaughn. Mr. Vaughn's enrollment was the result of a concerted effort to enroll him which started in 1963.

Vaughn proved to be a model student. An English major, he excelled in class, served as head cheerleader, coordinated important campus forums, and volunteered in the Service Corps. Witty and outgoing, he made friends quickly and easily. His smile was like a beam of sunlight; it radiated warmth and joy.

After graduating from Furman, Vaughn went on to earn master’s degrees from the University of South Carolina and the University of Georgia. From 1969 to 1982 he taught in the Greenville County schools, and in 1981 he was elected president of the South Carolina Education Association, a position he held for almost a decade. He died in 1991, having contracted inoperable cancer. 

Taken from "Furman University: Furman Remembers Its Trailblazer"

http://www2.furman.edu/About/About/PresidentEmeritus/Pages/trailblazer.aspx

Wade Hampton High School, 100 Pine Knoll Dr, Greenville SC, 29609