June 2002

Hardee Inaugurated as Third President
of Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic

Jerry L. Hardee, Ed.D., was recently inaugurated as the third president of Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic in Spartanburg, S.C. "I firmly believe that Sherman College has found in Dr. Hardee an outstanding leader who possesses not only a high level of integrity and strong skills and experience in higher education administration, but also an individual who has demonstrated over the years his unwavering commitment to Sherman College and to the chiropractic profession,” said former Sherman College Board of Trustees chair Dr. Thomas A. Gelardi.

Hardee is the first person of African-American heritage to head one of the nation's chiropractic colleges. Since his appointment as president of Sherman College, Hardee has been meeting extensively with students, faculty and health-care profession advisors at historically African-American colleges and universities to inform them of the opportunities available in chiropractic.

He is also working proactively with the American Black Chiropractic Association (ABCA), and served as the keynote speaker for the ABCA’s annual convention last fall in Minnesota.

“Although the number of women in the chiropractic profession has grown in the past 15 years, minority representation in the field continues to lag way behind,” Hardee said. According to 1998 National Board of Chiropractic Examiners data, more than 93% of practicing chiropractors are caucasian, and fewer than 1% are African-American.

Before being named president of Sherman College, Hardee served as vice president for academic affairs at Albany State University in Georgia. Prior to that assignment, he served as assistant to the president and professor of educational leadership at Valdosta State University in Georgia. He is past Georgia director of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and has served on the boards of the American Red Cross and Boy Scouts of America.

He was recently recognized by the Levi Strauss Foundation in honor and appreciation of his years of service and leadership with Project Change, an anti-racism initiative sponsored by the foundation to increase racial and ethnic harmony. Under Hardee’s leadership, the Valdosta chapter of Project Change sponsored multi-cultural educational workshops, worked with banks to promote home ownership among low-income families and helped increase minority enrollment in upper-level high school courses.

Hardee is active in Kiwanis International and served as president of the Valdosta Kiwanis Club and Lt. Governor of District 13 of the Georgia Kiwanis. He continues his humanitarian efforts in the Spartanburg, S.C., community. He recently joined a Spartanburg chapter of Kiwanis and has been named to the Advisory Board of the Phyllis Wheatley Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program in the Greenville-Spartanburg, Ga., area, and to the Advisory Board of the University of South Carolina Spartanburg (USCS) College of Education.

Hardee has been involved in educational administration for more than 30 years. He holds a doctorate degree in education and a certificate of advanced study in educational administration from Northern Illinois University, a master’s degree in science education from Fisk University, and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Clark College.

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