Honoring Our Past
A History of the SSUNAA
Understanding the need to develop these clubs into a more organized representative group, which would serve the college and the administration, the Alumni Association was organized. The membership of the Association was composed of graduates from the High School, Normal, and College Departments. Our records indicate that during the 1931-32 school year, Georgia State Industrial College had the following officers listed according to the local branch.
Georgia State College Clubs were organized in Savannah, GA; Valdosta, GA; Waycross, GA; Philadelphia, PA; and New York, NY. In 1947, the members of the Alumni Clubs and State Clubs began to investigate the possibility of becoming an organized national body. By 1949, the Alumni Association of Savannah State became nationally chartered.
The purpose of the Alumni Association is to promote the welfare of the school and to assist in advancing the mission and goals of the college administration. Chapters of the Association are widely scattered across the country. Scholarships and other awards are made annually by the Association to the University.
Previous SSUNAA Presidents
The following distinguished individuals served as president of the National Alumni Association:
Dr. Frankie Golden Ellis: 1945 -1949
Mr. Albert S. Bacon: 1949 -1951
Mr. L. D. “Duke” Kennedy: 1951-1952
Mr. John McGlockton: 1952 -1956
Mr. Leonard Law: 1956 -1960
Mr. Willie H. McBride: 1960 -1964
Mrs. Josie B. Sessoms: 1964 -1968
Dr. Daniel Washington: 1968-1971
Mr. James O. Thomas: 1971-1977
Mr. Earl F. Brown, Jr.: 1977 -1979
Mr. William Weston: 1979 -1983
Mr. Roy L. Jackson: 1983 -1985
Dr. Jimmie C. Jackson: 1985 -1989
Mr. Charles Young: 1989 -1991
Atty. John M. Clark: 1991-1995
Dr. Jimmie C. Jackson: 1995 -1997
Mr. John M. Brown: 1997 -1999
Dr. Percy A. Mack, Jr.: 2000-2005
Dr. Shirley McDuffie: 2005 -2009
Mr. Roy L. Jackson: 2009 -2015
Mr. Clyde A. Newton: 2015 – 2021
