By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Dr. Clayton C. Stansbury Jr., beloved retired dean of Morgan State University’s (MSU) Honors College, was laid to rest on Sept. 16 at Woodlawn Cemetery. He died on Aug. 30 at age 93.
His gospel-filled funeral at MSU’s Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center in Baltimore drew hundreds, with the university choir performing several hymns throughout the service.
“Thank you for your willingness, your willingness to share this phenomenal Morgan man with us, we were all most fortunate and extremely blessed beyond measure, to have had him in our lives for so long,” said Dr. David Kwabena Wilson, president of MSU.
During the service, Wilson announced that the auditorium in Martin D. Jenkins Hall will be renamed in Stansbury’s honor, a decision approved by the board of regents.
Born March 20, 1932, in Havre De Grace, Md., Stansbury was the sixth of seven children. He earned a bachelor’s in psychology from MSU in 1955, a master’s in general psychology from Howard University in 1960, and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Maryland. Stansbury was also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
He and his wife, Catherine, were dedicated members of Epworth United Methodist Church in Baltimore County for more than 40 years.
Stansbury began working at MSU in 1967 as a psychological counselor in the University Counseling Center. Through 2019, he served in various roles, including assistant dean, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of the university’s honors program.
U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07), chairman of the MSU Board of Regents, spoke of his dedication to service at the funeral.
“His life was a master class in service,” said Mfume. “He was a fixer of problems, who never refused to assist and to help when confronted by countless requests, assignments and challenges.”
Wilson called Stansbury “the full embodiment and the quintessential definition of what it means to be a Morgan man.”
“We honor a man who selflessly and unapologetically devoted his gifts and his talents to the upbuilding of this sacred institution,” said Wilson. “Dr. Stansbury, now you have retired from the university more than a decade before I arrived, but everywhere I looked, people would say that you have to get to know Dr. Stansbury.”
Wilson noted that the Stansbury legacy at MSU runs deep.
“The Stansbury’s were literally everywhere,” he said. “At graduations, scholarship benefits, lunches and homecoming deals, alumni lunches and choir concerts and football games. If there was an opportunity to uplift and support the mission of Morgan State University they were there.”
Candis Williamson, one of many students he helped throughout his life, recalled his guidance.
“I had a hard time getting accepted to college because I had low SAT scores, but a high and consistent grade point average from Woodlawn High School,” she said. “I remember as an 18 year old, sharing with Dr. Stansbury my strong desire to go college. I was declined by so many other schools in Maryland, but Dr. Stansbury had hope in me.”
He encouraged Williamson to keep pursuing higher education and helped her gain acceptance to MSU in 1998.
“He believed in me and told everyone about me at MSU to get me there,” she said. Williamson graduated in 2002 from the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management.
“Before the graduation Dr. Stansbury asked me to come to the Murphy Fine Arts Building to get something special,” she said. “He awarded me the Dr. Clayton C Stansbury, Jr. Importunity Award for all my hard work. He also made sure on graduation day that the Baltimore Sun did a write up in the paper with him and I.”
“He was a powerful man and an amazing asset to me,” Williamson said. “I love Dr. Stansbury.”
Stansbury is survived by his wife of 68 years, his sister-in-law, Cassie N. Stansbury, nieces, nephews, and numerous extended relatives and friends.