Dr. Clarence G. Newsome
13th President of Shaw University

Excerpts from President Newsome’s speech to faculty, students, and staff during the announcement of his appointment on February 13, 2003.

“Shaw University will meet a standard and then we will raise it higher. Only the best!… There is no substitute for excellence… People have a way of rallying around excellence. People have a way of bringing to you even what you don’t need when they see excellence because they want to be near it, because they want to be associated with excellence and we are going to make excellence live as we have done over the years and in a new and resounding way, ways that help to make clear this statement: A New Shaw, for a New Millennium!”

President Newsome's Vision Statement 
As articulated on Thursday, February 10, 2005

"As the oldest historically black college or university in the south, my vision for Shaw University is that it will leverage its pioneering role into a position of unqualified leadership in higher education, domestically and globally.

Early in my career, one of the great religious thinkers and writers of the 20th century said to me, "young man always follow the light on your path, not that of someone else."  
My vision for Shaw University is that its position of leadership during the 21st century will arise out of the exemplary, excellent, and superlative way in which it follows the light on its path as reflected in its distinctive and inspiring mission; one that is as relevant now as it was when it was established at the conclusion of the Civil War and at the outset of the Industrial Era.  My vision is that it will play a leading role in shaping the Knowledge Revolution."