Meet The President
Dr. Todd received his bachelor’s and master’s of education degrees in English from Albany State University. He received in Ph.D. in English from Georgia State University. He received a second master’s degree after he received his doctorate in the area of Higher Education Administration with a concentration in Student Affairs from Regent University.
Dr. Todd came to Denmark Technical College as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Services while the College had an interim president. Within six months, he was named the ninth president of the College.
Dr. Todd has served at HBCUs for almost thirty years in various roles including Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Wiley University; Vice Provost and Associate Vice Provost at Norfolk State University; and various roles over sixteen years at Clark Atlanta University, and various roles at Albany State University. Todd is most known for his mantra of “Putting the TECH back in Denmark Tech” and for ensuring that the legacy of our HBCU is recognized, implemented and respected.
Accomplishments Under Dr. Todd’s Administration
June 2024 – The College received $1,075,000 United States Department of Agriculture Grant funding to support the timely infusion of critical infrastructure repairs to strengthen the physical plant.
May 10, 2024 – First class to graduate from the Allendale Correctional Facility via a partnership with the South Carolina Department of Corrections through the federal Second Chance Pell program. An official commencement ceremony was held at the facility with parents and other students from the facility in attendance.
May 9, 2024 – Petition approved for Denmark Technical College to be accepted for membership into the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
April 27, 2024 – The Honorable Congressman James Clyburn served as the College’s 75th Commencement speaker and was awarded an honorary degree.
April 26, 2024 – As part of the president’s expanded business model, Denmark Tech, CISCO and Fusion Centers held a security operations center (SOC) apprenticeship signing to create the College’s first SOC.
April 26, 2024 – The college held the first Alumni Wall of Fame induction ceremony for 13 deserving members. Their photographs will hang prominently in the Blatt Hall administrative building.
April 25, 2024 – Dr. Todd created a film with CISCO that humanizes how he has led the institution to such success.
April 12, 2024 – Denmark Technical College competed in its first national app challenge at Tennessee State University.
April 3, 2024 – The Student Freedom Initiative and Fusion Cyber offered STEM certification funding through Denmark Technical College.
March 27, 2024 – Dominion Energy corporate visited the campus to expand collaboration.
March 7, 2024 – To provide high-level professional development for employees, Dr. Todd created the College’s first President’s Leadership Institute launched with six employees being selected as the inaugural Lorry H. Dawkins’ (named after the College’s first President) Presidential Fellows. The program features fireside chats with HBCU and MSI presidents and administrators from various colleges and universities.
Spring 2024 – The College opened the first national chain restaurant, Fuddruckers, in the campus’ history. It is located in the William L. McDuffie Student Life Center.
Spring 2024 – Publication of the first Denmark Technical College Annual President’s Report in the College’s 77 year history.
February 21, 2024 – Denmark Technical College and Fusion Centers announced a groundbreaking managed Security Operation Center (SOC) initiative.
February 3, 2024 – Denmark Technical College inducted the inaugural its Alumni Hall of Fame and raised the highest single funding for the College in its 77 year history.
December 14, 2023 – South Carolina Lt. Governor Pamela Evette visited and toured the campus.
December 7, 2023 – Dr. Todd spoke as the sole HBCU President on a national panel for HBCUs on the energy transition for the American Association of Blacks in Energy in Washington, DC.
October 18, 2023 – Established a nuclear fundamentals apprenticeship program with the Savannah River Nuclear facility.
September 30, 2023 – Petitioned for Alumnus James W. Bowden, Sr., to be inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, Atlanta, GA – First in the College’s History.
August 2023 – The names of all college divisions were changed to schools.
August 2023 – Installation of new branded gymnasium floor. This was the first time the facility, erected in 1975, had a wooden floor installed.
August 2023 – The College’s South Carolina State Authority Reciprocity Agreement (SC SARA) and the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC SARA) applications were approved for online learning. This was part of the President’s vision to expand distance education.
July 13, 2023 – Dr. Todd became the first President in the College’s history to be selected to be elected as the president of the Presidents’ Council for the South Carolina Technical College System.
June 1, 2023 – Denmark Technical College featured on Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid on PBS affiliates nationwide. features-@postID9c0aa88f – Viewpoint Project
Spring 2023 – The College held its first Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony inducting athletes from as early as 1961.
April 13, 2023 – Groundbreaking for the new roads project. In collaboration with Bamberg County, the College received new roads over the entire campus at a cost of $1,2000,000. This was the first time the campus received new roads in at least fifty years.
March 16, 2023 – The College received a risk management software donation of $1,978,147,60 from CISCO through the college’s partnership with Student Freedom Initiative.
January 21, 2023 – Dr. Todd was awarded the Diamond Award for excellence in education, leadership, philanthropy, humanitarianism, and community engagement by the Not Alone Foundation and the Academy of the Diamond.
January 13, 2023 – Dr. Todd was featured on the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs’ Culture Connect podcast, where he discussed his career experience, his passion for young people and his legacy,
The Culture Connect: Dr. Willie L. Todd Jr. – Denmark Technical College
January 5, 2023 – College Perspective: Revolutionizing the Denmark Technical College Experience
November 5, 2022- The College hosted the inaugural HBCU Hackathon for the State of South Carolina in collaboration with the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs and Advance Technology International. Six of the seven HBCUs in the State participated in the Hackathon.
October 31, 2022 – Fusion Cyber, Capital Business Development Association, and CISCO, in partnership with Denmark Technical College, announced the establishment of Cyber Bridge Scholarships for High-Paying Jobs. The four-way public-private partnership is a fully-funded $2,5000,000 HBCU cyber bridge scholarship fund that will help promote diversity in the cybersecurity industry.
October 1, 2022 – Department of Energy, Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program (MSIPP) $2,232,831.00
Fall 2022 – The College purchased new furniture for all three residence halls.
August 10, 2022 – Established the first Operation Olive Branch between Denmark Technical College and Voorhees University (located next door), where both colleges welcomed first-year students for the fall semester collaboratively.
August 2022 – Expanded athletics by adding women’s and men’s track and field and women’s volleyball.
June 7, 2022 – Established partnership with the U.S. Department of Education and the South Carolina Department of Corrections Palmetto Unified School District to launch the Second Chance Pell program at Denmark Technical College. Students enrolled at the Allendale Correctional Institution.
June 1, 2022 – Denmark Technical College, in partnership with Santee Cooper, created and named their new electrical line worker range after alumnus, College Board Member and National Alumni Association president, Mr. James W. Bowden, Sr.
May 1, 2022 – Dr. Todd was named the 2022 President/CEO of the Year by the South Carolina Association of Technical College Commissioners.
February 28, 2022 – The forgotten HBCUs: As millions have poured into historically Black colleges, 2-year schools missed out on article featured in the National Observer: Higher Education Edition, The Business Journals
February 11, 2022 – “The Persistence of Denmark Tech: How a Two-Year HBCU Survived Closure” featured in Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
December 11, 2021– DTC joined STRADA Scholars’ Program and received $388,000 for seven (7) years to support the DTC Presidential Scholars program.
November 17, 2021– Groundbreaking ceremony to renovate the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall to include new windows, new floors, new furniture for all rooms, hotel-style AC/heating units, and removal of the outdated boiler system.
October 8, 2021 – After over thirty years of attempts, the College was able to acquire 2.478 acres that were located on the College campus from the Janet Dickerson Stephens and Smith Family.
October 2021– During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when truck drivers were in dire need, the College offered the first commercial driver’s license Program in its history. The first year boasted over 167 completers.
September 28, 2021 – Twenty-one (21) Denmark Technical College students participated in the kickoff session for an eight-week internship boot camp with Commvault executives and Denmark Technical College leadership for an orientation into the program.
September 21, 2021 – In a newly created program in partnership with Bamberg County, eleven (11) students received certificates of completion in Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
September 20, 2021 – Denmark Technical College launched its official college prestige license plates in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles This was the first time in the College’s history that it had a state license plate.
September 15, 2021 – The College received a Plutonium Modernization Program (PuMP) Grant award in the amount of $410,000.00
Fall 2021 – The College created its first Wellness Center located in the William McDuffie Student Center.
Fall 2021 – The College introduced men and women’s soccer to expand athletics.
August 2021 – The College renovated and reopened Edisto Residence Hall.
August 2021 – Introduced the College’s first freshmen week.
May 3, 2021 – Denmark Technical College celebrated (a year later because of COVID-19) the formal inauguration of Dr. Willie L. Todd Jr., the college’s ninth president, with a weekend full of events designed to fundraise for various scholarship programs and showcase the college’s progress.
March 9, 2021 – A new college mission and vision were created and approved by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
February 18, 2021-Denmark Technical College President Dr. Willie L. Todd, Jr. was named the 2021 Shining Star by the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs. Denmark Tech president receives SC Commission for Minority Affairs 2021 Shining Star Award – Denmark Technical College
December 8, 2020 – The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) lifted the 12-month probation status placed upon Denmark Technical College (DTC) in December 2019.
December 8, 2020-Denmark Technical College announced it will become a community center for coding and creativity as part of Apple’s Community Education Initiative and Tennessee State University’s HBCU C2 initiative designed to bring coding and creativity experiences to HBCUs and their communities.
Fall 2020 – Establishment of a new website and overhaul of the institution’s old website
July 2020 – Moved the College from paper transcripts to electronic parchment transcripts
