Dr. Lacy K Ford, 1970
Dr. Lacy K Ford, 1970
Dr. Lacy K. Ford, who graduated in 1970, left the halls of Clover High School to live up to his senior superlative appointment - most intellectual. During his time at Clover High, Dr. Ford was an active member of the senior class. He was manager of the Athletic Block "C" Club. In addition, Dr. Ford was a member of the high school band and served as president of the Music Block "C" Club and National Honor Society. He was Chief Marshal and a national merit semi-finalist. Dr. Ford was a member of the Clover Hi-Q Bowl Team that appeared on WSPA's Hi-Q Bowl as undefeated champions.
Upon graduation from Clover High School, Dr. Ford attended the University of South Carolina (UofSC) where he majored in history with a cognate in economics. He graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Ford became a professor of history at UofSC and served as chair of the history department from 2007 to 2010. From 2010 to 2016, Dr. Ford became the Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies at UofSC, where he was responsible for faculty development and evaluation, tenure and promotion, hiring and retention. In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Ford oversaw the Graduate School, the Distance Learning program, and SEC's Academic Leadership Development program. In 2016, Dr. Ford took the position as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and remained in that position until December 2020. As Dean of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Ford led U of SC's largest college with 9,000 students and nearly 600 faculty.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Ford won the Francis B. Simkins Prize of the Southern Historical Association for his book, Origins of Southern Radicalism: The South Carolina Upcountry, 1800-1960. Later he wrote Deliver Us From Evil: The Slavery Question in the Old South. In February 2022, Dr. Ford's book, Empowering Communities: How Electric Cooperatives Transformed Rural South Carolina, was released by the University of South Carolina Press. In addition to his books, Dr. Ford edited Blackwell Companion to the Civil War and Reconstruction in 2005. Dr. Ford has also published over 30 journal articles on American and southern history. Over the years, he has granted interviews and prepared commentaries on history and politics for a variety of media sources such as The New York Times, CBS Evening News, CNN, and NPR's All Things Considered.
Dr. Ford has been a National Endowment for the Humanities Research Fellow twice and an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellow once. His work on Deliver Us From Evil: The Slavery Question in the Old South won the 2010 Mary Lawton Hodges prize for best book on the South. In addition to his books and essays, Dr. Ford has written a number of essays and book reviews throughout his career.
Dr. Ford has definitely lived up to his senior superlative appointment - spending his career learning and sharing his knowledge of history. The Clover Schools Alumni Association is proud to highlight Dr. Lacy K. Ford.
