Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award

Clay Owen and his wife Grainne experienced an almost unimaginable loss and decided to transform it into something good.

In 2003, Clay and Grainne lost their nine-year-old son Killian to leukemia following a four-year battle against the disease. Instead of walking away from the world of pediatric cancer, they created Curing Kids Cancer, a nonprofit dedicated to funding cutting edge pediatric cancer research. Since 2005, they have raised more than $29 million. Here in Columbia, they established the Gamecocks Curing Kids Cancer at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital-Midlands.

A native of the small town of North, S.C., Clay is a magna cum laude graduate of USC in broadcast journalism with Phi Beta Kappa honors. Clay cut his journalistic teeth at The Times & Democrat in Orangeburg, WIS-TV and the State newspaper in Columbia. After winning a Rotary International Foundation scholarship, Clay obtained his M.A. in International Relations from the University of Kent in Canterbury, U.K. While there, he met his wife, Grainne. Clay joined CNN in London before moving to CNN headquarters in Atlanta. He helped produce coverage of Princess Diana’s funeral as well as the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. He then transitioned to public relations with a long career at AT&T in Atlanta and Dallas where he helped launch Cingular Wireless and the original iPhone.

Clay now serves as Professor of Practice at the College of Information and Communications at USC.

David M. Beasley served as the Executive Director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) from 2017 until 2023. The WFP is the largest international humanitarian organization and delivers food assistance and other aid to nearly 100 million people a year in dozens of countries. Beasley’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic won accolades for saving millions of lives as more people around the world were forced into poverty. He also helped boost private and governmental funding for the aid program by billions of dollars by spanning deep political divides. 

Before coming to WFP, Beasley spent a decade working with high-profile leaders and on-the-ground program managers in more than 100 countries, directing projects designed to foster peace, reconciliation and economic progress. He travelled to as many as 30 countries a year, organizing, leading or participating in conferences and missions in Kosovo, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen, among others. His work has allowed him to develop deep relationships with leaders around the world.

 As Governor of South Carolina from 1995 to 1999, Beasley guided the state during years of economic transformation, helping to reshape the state’s economy into a healthy, diverse and robust market. The work led to one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, with a dramatic increase in private sector capital investment.  Beasley was the first Governor in South Carolina to make a public push for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol dome, a move that earned him the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.  He was first elected to public office at the age of 21 as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Beasley and his wife Mary Wood have four children and three grandchildren. A native of Lamar, South Carolina, he earned a bachelor’s degree from USC in 1979 and graduated from USC’s School of Law in 1983.

1995, Doctor of Philosophy in Education Administration, College of Education, University of South Carolina

Dennis Pruitt, vice president for student affairs and vice provost at the University of South Carolina, has led the University’s Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support since 1983. He designed the university’s first and award-winning enrollment-management model, developed what is widely regarded as one of the earliest and most thorough strategic-planning processes in the field and significantly enhanced the university’s student-service programs. Additionally, Dr. Pruitt has successfully recruited, developed and retained nationally recognized Student Affairs leaders. These well-respected professionals have been instrumental in the establishment and ongoing implementation of key educational and service programs that support USC students.

Pruitt’s other awards include NASPA Southeast Region’s John Jones Award for Outstanding Performance as a Senior Student Affairs Officer, NASPA’s Outstanding Pillars of the Profession Award, NASPA Southeast Region’s Bob E. Leach Award for Dedicated and Outstanding Service to Students and the Armstrong State College Distinguished Alumni Award.

Pruitt earned his Doctorate in Education Administration, Student Personnel Services, from South Carolina and the Gamecock legacy runs deep with his wife, Tricia, and all four of their children, Dennis, Jr., Matt, Kaitlyn and Christopher earning degrees from the University of South Carolina.

1977, Bachelor of Arts in Education, College of Education, University of South Carolina
1981, Master of Education, Graduate School, University of South Carolina

Since graduating from the University of South Carolina in December 1977, Donna Hooks has dedicated herself to serving students, educators, and her community. She worked for 36 years as a teacher and administrator in Horry County Schools, ending her career at national and state award winning Burgess Elementary School, which she opened as principal in 2007.

After retiring in 2014, Hooks continued to serve professionally in various roles including administrator, consultant, mentor, adjunct university instructor, and Executive Director for South Carolina ASCD. She has served on many state and community boards advising on educational issues, planning professional development opportunities, and advocating for educational reform at the local, state, and national levels.

She has visited schools and collaborated with teachers and administrators across South Carolina and traveled internationally to serve on several Christian mission teams including working in classrooms with Roma students and adults in Slovakia, training and sharing resources with teachers in Haiti, and teaching children in churches, schools, and orphanages in Ukraine.

A native of Philadelphia, Peter McCausland graduated from the University of South Carolina, earning a bachelor’s degree in history in 1971. He graduated, cum laude, from Boston University School of Law in 1974. A gentleman farmer and philanthropist, Peter and his wife Bonnie have two children and six grandchildren.

After graduation, Peter practiced law for two years with a law firm in Philadelphia and for five years as general counsel of an industrial gas company, before he started his own firm, McCausland, Keen, and Buckman, in 1982. In that year he also acquired a small industrial and medical gas company in Connecticut which would eventually become the public company, Airgas Inc., the fifth largest industrial, medical, and specialty gas company in the world. As chairman and chief executive officer, Peter led the successful defense of Airgas and its
shareholders against the longest hostile takeover attempt in history, 2009-2011. That defense, the subject of many law school and business school case studies and featured in a recently published book, Merger Masters , is generally thought to be responsible for the decline in hostile takeover attempts in recent years. In response to a second hostile approach, Airgas was sold in 2016 to the French company, Air Liquide. Airgas returned 19 percent per year, compounded, to its shareholders, since its initial public offering in December of 1986.

In 2009, Peter and Bonnie purchased the 470 acre Erdenheim Farm in southeastern
Pennsylvania, to save it from development. The farm dates back to 1630 and was previously owned by William Penn, founder of the colony that would become the state of Pennsylvania. Since its inception, the farm has been in continuous agricultural use. Fruits and vegetables are grown on the farm and animals are raised there, including sheep, cattle, goats, hens, donkeys, and thoroughbred racehorses.

The McCauslands’ generous gifts to the university, both personally and through the McCausland Foundation, established the McCausland Brain Imaging Center and the McCausland Faculty Fellowship, creating numerous opportunities for faculty and students, while supporting innovation and scholastic development. The McCausland Brain Imaging Center provides state-of-the-art-technology to perform high-resolution brain imaging studies. The McCausland Faculty Fellowship program enhances the student experience and the careers of faculty as the premier faculty fellowship program in the university’s College of Arts and Sciences. In addition, Peter previously served on former University President John Palms’ advisory council and currently serves on the university’s College of Arts and Sciences’ Board of Visitors. The McCausland Foundation focuses on education especially for vulnerable youth, medical research and conservation.

Peter has served on numerous non-profits boards over the years, including, the Fox Chase Cancer Center, the Philadelphia orchestra, the Independence Seaport Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Morris Arboretum, Springside School, the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, and the Nantucket Land Council.

Thomas S. Mullikin currently serves as Director of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, where he functions as chief administrator responsible for the management and supervision of the agency’s five divisions. A distinguished environmental attorney, author, professor, and award-winning documentarian, Dr. Mullikin’s environmental and energy law practice has taken him to every continent on Earth representing numerous multinational corporate clients and the United Nations.

In his work with the UN, Mullikin has assisted in drafting chemical laws for the Republic of Moldova, reviewed and drafted recommendations for Sierra Leone’s proposed Constitution, and assessed legal best practices for the Maldives. He was recognized by the Fijian Permanent Secretary of Lands and Mineral Resources for leading a team of experts on behalf of the UNDPABA (United Nations Development Programme–American Bar Association) while serving as a liaison to the Fijian government in drafting expansive comments and recommendations for legislation aimed at protecting the Pacific Island nation’s rich mineral resources.

Dr. Mullikin has had an impressive military career, retiring in 2018 as Major General/Commander of the S.C. State Guard and President of the State Guard Association of the United States. He served as Special Assistant to Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions, overseeing the trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the four 9/11 co-defendants, and as an International Legal Officer and Trial Counsel with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps.

His military decorations include the U.S. Army Meritorious Service Medal, U.S. Army Achievement Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, U.S. Army Reserve Components Overseas Ribbon, Exceptional Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Medal of Merit, Commendation Medal, and the RAIDER-Rapid Assistance in Disaster & Emergency Relief Pin. He was a Certified U.S. Army Master Fitness Trainer and Self Defense Instructor (6th Degree Black Belt) and recognized as an Honorary Green Beret by Special Forces (S.C. Chapter). He was also awarded Airborne parachute jump badges from Germany, Serbia, Croatia, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the Royal Laotian Parachutist Badge.

In the academic realm, Dr. Mullikin served as a research professor at Coastal Carolina University (School of Coastal Environment), a professor of practice at the University of South Carolina (Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management), Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, and a visiting professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito – Galapagos campus. He also served as the Director of the Mullikin Institute for Environmental Law and Policy at Coastal Carolina University.

Dr. Mullikin was the founding chair of the gubernatorially established S.C. Floodwater Commission and served as a member of the S.C. Energy Advisory Council. He was co-chair of the International Environmental Law Committee of the American Bar Association, membership officer of LAWASIA Environmental Law Committee, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He was chairman of Global Eco Adventures and director of the GAIAS Foundation, dedicated to raising awareness and support for research, inclusion, education, and cultural activities in the Galapagos Islands and the Amazon Basin.

To bring context to his work as a senior environmental attorney, Dr. Mullikin has studied environmental issues worldwide, logging certified SCUBA dives in every ocean on Earth and summiting more than 20 mountains across all continents. In recognition of his global environmental work, he has been inducted as a Fellow in the Explorers Club (New York) and in the Royal Geographical Society (London) and has been engaged as a “National Geographic Expert” with the National Geographic Society. As a sixth degree Black Belt, Mullikin has been inducted into the S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame, the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame, and International Martial Arts Hall of Fame (London).

In addition to his numerous awards and military decorations, Dr. Mullikin has received a commendation for heroic action from the State of South Carolina and is a recipient of the ORDER OF THE PALMETTO, South Carolina’s highest award presented by the state’s governor. Together with his wife, Virginia Ann, they received “National Civic Leader Parents of the Year” honors in 2019. They reside in Camden, S.C., and have four children: Mary Elizabeth, Alexandra (Tomlinson) and husband Brant, Thomas Jr. and wife Alicia, and Margaret Charles (Whitney) and husband Will. They also have five grandchildren: Anna Gibbs Tomlinson, Baylor Davis Tomlinson, William English Whitney IV, Thomas Stowe Mullikin III, and Charles Theodore Whitney.