A ribbon-cutting and portrait unveiling ceremony took place in honor of the namesake for the University’s newly renovated Albert H. Anderson Center on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
The center was named in honor of the late Albert Homer Anderson, Sr., a distinguished educator in the Winston-Salem and Forsyth County area. Anderson was represented by Reverend Dr. Albert Anderson Jr., son of the honoree and founder of Anderson Communications Inc. located in Atlanta, GA.
?The ceremony took place in Dillard Auditorium, followed by a reception in the McNeil Banquet Hall. Elected officials and local educators from the community and the WSSU School of Education and Human Performance acknowledged and presented tributes to the memory of Albert H. Anderson, Sr.Musical entertainment was provided by the Burke Singers of WSSU.
?”Albert H. Anderson, Sr. is indeed a luminary in the annals of education here at Winston-Salem State University and the greater Triad area. We consider it an honor to commemorate his contributions at the ribbon-cutting and portrait unveiling ceremony,” said WSSU Interim Chancellor Michelle Howard-Vital.
Currently, the Anderson Center houses programs in adult and continuing education, including School of Education and Human Performance, Lifelong Learning and Evening-Weekend College, Graduate Studies and Research, The Maya Angelou Institute, The Small Business and Technology Development Center, and North Carolina Public Television.
An eminent and paramount educator, Anderson began his career in 1929 in the Winston-Salem School System where he taught Romance languages at the Columbia Heights High School, Paisley Junior High School, and Atkins High School. He served as president of the North Carolina Teachers Association and held workshops for principals at Winston-Salem Teachers College (now WSSU) and North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University) and North Carolina A&T University.
He also served as President of The North Carolina Teachers Association.
After his death, the Winston-Salem City Schools renamed Columbia Heights the A.H. Anderson High School. Upon the purchase of this building by Winston-Salem State University, it was converted to the School of Education and McNeil Banquet Hall. The building was eventually re-named Albert H. Anderson Hall.
After the expansion of the building by WSSU, the center was dedicated as The Albert H. Anderson Center.