Dr. Jasper Salmond

“Think global, act local” is the personification of Dr. Jasper Salmond’s life as an educator, military veteran and international business consultant. For almost 60 years he has worked to uplift others, having learned the value of sharing, caring and giving back during the Great Depression.

Salmond served as a teacher in Richland School District One, military duty in Frankfurt, Germany, junior high school assistant principal and principal of three elementary schools. As a United Nations contact for Wilbur Smith Associates, an international consulting firm, Salmond has traveled throughout the nation and to Kuwait.

He has served as a leader on the Palmetto Health Alliance, Richland School District One, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Benedict College, Midlands Technical College, Greater Columbia Community Residents Council, Carolina First Bank, United Way of the Midlands, the Cultural Council, and as president of the South Carolina School Boards Association. He also serves as chairman of the Board of Deacons at First Calvary Baptist Church.

Salmond’s awards and recognition include the Order of the Palmetto, World Affairs Global Award, Alpha Phi Alpha Man of the Year, and the Charles Drew Award. He is a lifetime member of Alpha Phi Alpha and the N.A.A.C.P. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Benedict College and was cited as one of “the five men of the decade” by Columbia Metropolitan magazine in 2000. He is also a 2010 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Hall of Fame inductee.

Salmond received his Bachelor’s degree from Benedict College, his Master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University and completed further studies at Atlanta University, the University of South Carolina, and Xerox Management Training School.

He and his wife of 56 years, his college sweetheart Thelma Brooks Salmond, have two children, nine grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.