Wilson White, Google, Ti Barnes, Allen University, Cherish Benton, i4Series, Danae Benton, WHHS Student
Ti Barnes and I go back to the very beginning of my journey to South Carolina. He was a photojournalist for WSPA and worked at the Greenwood news bureau. I joined WSPA in 2002, and had the pleasure of covering news with Ti for two years in the lower part of the Upstate. Although our lives have taken us both in different directions since then, we stay in touch to encourage and congratulate one another along the way. Ti now serves as the Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Director of Development at Allen University in Columbia. I was thrilled to hear he planned to make the trip to Greenville to join us for the “Innovation. Investment. Vision.” networking event Wednesday, September 15. Over the years, we have talked about the power of networking and building strong relationships. What unfolded after Ti’s most recent visit to Greenville is testimony to its strength. Ti had the opportunity, I should say took the opportunity, to tell Wilson White about some of the projects he and his colleagues are working on at AU and invited Wilson on campus to take a closer look. The rest is a story that is still being written. Best of luck my friend! -Cherish
PRESS RELEASE: Columbia, SC, September 22, 2021 – Allen University had the pleasure of hosting and providing a tour of the Good Samaritan Waverly Hospital to Mr. Wilson White, who leads a global policy team at Google and serves as the Senior Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy. The Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital represented the merger of commitments by courageous, trail-blazing physicians, nurses, and healthcare workers to provide first-class medical services for African Americans in Columbia, SC during the Jim Crow era.
During the tour, Mr. White visited the historic building to see its progress. Mr. White stated, “I had an opportunity to experience the vision of the Waverly restoration project and obtained a true sense of its core focus on civility, which is one of the most important topics of our society today.”
Mr. White also sat down with the leadership at Allen to further discuss how the university is leading efforts to tackle some of the biggest issues plaguing underserved communities in South Carolina.
Dr. Ernest McNealey, President and CEO of Allen University expressed, “To the extent that Google provides such a broad service around the globe, we think it’s important they recognize the work being done at Allen and presently underway. We believe they have the opportunity to extend what they do in ways they have not done previously.”
Mr. White met with President, Dr. Ernest McNealey, VP of Institutional Advancement, Dub Taylor, Associate VP of Institutional Advancement and Director of Development, Ti Barnes, and VP of IT, Dr. Eric Gamble, to further discuss the ground-breaking Waverly Hospital renewal efforts. Mr. Barnes met Mr. White at the “Innovation. Investment. Vision.”
Dr. McNealey suggests Google would not only bring technical expertise but can also assist the university in identifying ways to do so financially and expeditiously. “We look forward to Google investing in a project intended to make the world a better place.”
Mr. White ended his campus tour with enthusiasm about the innovative processes and inspiring commitment to promote civility throughout the university. “There is great vision behind Allen’s emerging projects, and I look forward to continuing these conversations,” Mr. White concludes.
Recent Comments