Former B-CU President Bronson dead at 91

Dr. Oswald P. Bronson, Sr., a 1950 alumnus of Bethune-Cookman College (now University), and former president of Bethune-Cookman, died Feb. 17 at his home in Port Orange, Florida. Bronson served with distinction as the institution's fourth president for 29 years - from 1975 until 2004, when he was named "President Emeritus." There will be a memorial at 6:30 p.m. March 1 on campus in Heyn Memorial Chapel. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. March 2 in the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center. William Stitt, a grandson of the late president, graduated from B-CU recently. Stitt shared his memories of his grandfather with the VOICE in a video interview now available online at www. bcuvoice.com. Bronson, who attended classes when the late Bethune was here, has been described as a "noted fundraiser, visionary educator, theologian and community leader." He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., pastored several United Methodist Churches in Florida, Georgia and Chicago from 1950-1966, and was highly respected among college and university presidents throughout the country. Enrollment at the university grew under Bronson, as did the fields of study and the college's endowment. One of his crowning achievements was the construction of the Performing Arts Center on campus. Bronson is survived by his wife, Helen Williams Bronson, former curator of the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation on campus; three children and a host of relatives and friends who will mourn his passing.