– Douglas Covington, who served as president at Alabama A&M University from 1984-87, died Wednesday.
He was 77.
Covington was Alabama A&M’s sixth president. In 1995, Covington became the first African-American to become president of a non-historically black public school in Virginia when he took the helm of Radford University.
Penny Kyle, the current president at Radford, issued a statement about Covington’s time at the school.
In an Alabama A&M press releasetoday, a former alumni director remembered Covington’s impact on the school.
“He was an extraordinary leader and a visionary who brought great opportunities to the University in terms of community, alumni and corporate support,” recalled Georgia S. Valrie, an AAMU alumna and retiree who served as its director of alumni affairs. “He even launched campus beautification efforts and the renovation of Hillcrest (President’s Home). He was a warm, compassionate person.”
According to his biography on the Alabama A&M website, Covington had a wide-ranging impact in Huntsville read more
