Susan Shi to speak on “What Really Matters” March 31

Dr. Susan Shi

Susan Shi, the former First Lady at Furman University and a current member of the school’s Board of Trustees, will speak on “What Really Matters?” Tuesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. in Furman’s Daniel Chapel.

Her talk, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by Furman’s Chaplains Office and is part of the L.D. Johnson Lecture Series.

Susan Shi spent 16 years (1994-2010) serving as Furman’s First Lady in partnership with President David Shi.  She received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Furman in 2010, and joined the Board of Trustees in 2014.  She is a 1971 graduate of Furman, and earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Before returning to Furman, Shi worked for 12 years as an educator and administrator, mostly in the North Carolina public schools. She has been an active civic and community volunteer, especially in the area of education. She chaired the board of Greenville’s Alliance for Quality Education, and served on the boards of the Community Foundation, United Way and the “Success by 6” program for pre-school children.  She also chaired the board of the Institute for Child Success from its inception until 2014.

In past years, she co-chaired a committee that established educational priorities for the School District of Greenville County and served as a board member of the Northwest Crescent Child Development and Family Resource Center.

Shi’s honors include being elected to The Order of The Jessamine (2000), which recognizes contributions of women to the Upstate; receiving the School District of Greenville County’s “Superintendent’s Award” (2000); being awarded the Community Foundation of Greater Greenville’s “Ruth Nicholson Award” (2001); and having the YWCA’s “Susan T. Shi Endowment for Infant and Toddler Care” established in her honor (2002).

The L.D. Johnson Memorial Lecture Series was established in honor of the late L.D. Johnson, who served as chaplain and professor of religion at Furman for nearly 15 years before his death in 1981. He was also pastor of First Baptist Church of Greenville.

For more information, call the Furman Chaplains’ Office at (864) 294-2133.