FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RUSSELL SCRUGGS — 37 YEARS OF HISTORY, ARTS AND CULTURE

Russell Scruggs is shown outside of the Temple Building.

DANVILLE, VA, February 20, 2007 - Russell Scruggs, Assistant Professor of History at Danville Community College, retires in May 2007 with an impressive list of accomplishments at the College and in the community. These accomplishments include:

• Forty-one years of teaching experience, with 37 of those years at DCC.

• Thirty-three years coordinating events for African-American History Month and co-sponsoring the Afro-American Culture Club.

•  Twenty-five years coordinating the annual Celebration of the Arts events.

Scruggs leaves a cultural arts legacy at DCC and some “big” shoes to fill. Faculty, staff and students all say they will miss the man with the hearty laugh and easy smile.

“When I retire, I want people to remember that I really care about students and young people, and that I have always tried to do my best to help them, whether it was about arts, history or personal problems,” says Scruggs.

Not only does he love teaching history, but his passion for the arts extends back to his childhood. His youth interest in music fueled him to become a soloist, which “blossomed,” and channeled his interest into other art forms. That’s why he established a weeklong arts series, “Celebration of the Arts,” which has since become an annual event over the last 25 years.

“From the very first year, I was the coordinator. Celebration of the Arts emphasizes aspects of the arts such as sculpture, music, drama and creative writing. I was asked to come up with ideas to attract people to the event,” says Scruggs. “It was the first time we used local talent—bringing the community to DCC. And as years passed, the events were expanded to having nationally-known personalities come to the College.”

Some of those famous persons include poet and author Dr. Maya Angelou; actor, director and playwright Ossie Davis, and his wife, actress Ruby Dee; and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. In more recent years, famous authors Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez and Kevin Powell have taken the stage at DCC. Scruggs has high hopes for this year’s events as Tonya Pinkins, best known for her role as Livia Faye in the ABC-TV soap opera, “All My Children,” headlines the 25^th anniversary of Celebration of the Arts, March 26-30.

“I’m excited about the 25^th anniversary. I think it’s going to be a great experience for everyone,” Scruggs smiles. “In addition to the great line-up we have, there will also be art exhibitions and DCC performers at the events.”

In addition to Celebration of the Arts, Scruggs was pleased with the African-American History Month activities held recently at DCC. Since 1974, he has helped spearhead planning for the month-long celebration of African American history and culture. He says that his interest in African-American history began when he was in high school.

“I grew up in Prince Edward County, Virginia,” Scruggs says. “When I was a senior in high school, the public schools in the area were closed. I spent my senior year in a church basement with all white people. For five years, there were no schools for blacks in the county, and I didn’t agree with that behavior.”

It was during that time in his life that he wanted to “change the injustice” and got involved with learning as much as he could about black history and social causes.

In 1964, he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in History at the University of Richmond, and for three years after that, he taught history at Oak Hill Academy. He later earned his Master of Arts Degree in History at Appalachian State University in 1970 and completed additional graduate work at the University of Virginia.

While still in graduate school, Scruggs was offered a job at Danville Community College as a history professor, but he waited until he received his degree before accepting the position in 1970. He later became the co-sponsor of a newly-formed Afro-American Culture club designed for all students, regardless of their race.

“There was a student petition that Black History be taught at DCC, and I was asked to ‘team-teach’ the course,” he says. “The Black History Club developed from that class and is now called the Afro-American Culture Club.”

With Scruggs and fellow history professor, the late Fred A. Lloyd, III, the club presented films about African-American history, implemented community service projects, sponsored on-campus Sickle Cell Anemia Trait Testing and conducted the annual Thanksgiving Dinner Bake Sale.

Now that he will soon be retiring, Scruggs hopes that the Afro-American Culture Club, African-American History Month activities and the Celebration of the Arts events will continue.

Although he admits that coordinating the College’s cultural arts events has been stressful at times, he says one of the prime memories he will always have is when Dr. Angelou arrived at DCC for a Celebration of the Arts performance in 1986.

“You would imagine that she would come in a limousine with a six-foot-tall bodyguard,” Scruggs laughs. “Instead, she drove a white Buick and stepped out of her car with a five-foot five-inch tall gentleman. It was unusual to see that, but it showed that she wasn’t ‘stuck up’ like some famous people.

“I’ll never forget that day when a female child about eight years old came up to her and said she wanted to be a writer,” he continues. “Everyone was trying to meet her, but Maya sat down and put all of her attention into that little girl. That child was more important than all of the ladies who wanted to shake hands with her. Years later and that same girl grew up, earned her master’s degree in English and became a teacher.”

In addition to his teaching career and other contributions at DCC, Scruggs coordinated the Annual Talent Show for faculty, staff and students for many years. In the past, he served as the Director of DCC Singers and as the Faculty Coordinator for the Funds for Excellence project’s faculty development committee.

In the community, Scruggs has an impressive list of projects as well. He has served as president of a number of organizations such as the Danville Concert Association, the Danville Area Association for the Arts and Humanities, the Dan River Alliance for Arts and Culture, the Board of Directors of Hughes Memorial Home, and the Friends of the Danville Public Library. He has also served on three panels of the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

In 1994, he was selected as Outstanding Church Musician of the Year for Virginia Baptists; as Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year at DCC, and as a faculty member showcased at the Virginia Community Colleges Association annual meeting. In 2005, he was recognized by the local Elks as “Man of the Year” for his service to the community. Since 1972, he has served as part-time Minister of Music at Moffett Memorial Baptist Church, where he has responsibility for eight choirs and is a volunteer coordinator for the Danville Church-Based After School Tutorial Program.

“If, in retirement, I only continued to volunteer for the community causes in which I am currently involved, I would be very busy,” says Scruggs. “However, my plans are to become even more committed to those things in which I so fervently believe.”