President's Page

Dr. Clifford L. Stanley
Major General, USMC (Retired)
President & CEO

Dr. Clifford L. Stanley, a retired major general, led a distinguished 33-year career with the U.S. Marine Corps before becoming the president of Scholarship America in July, 2004.

Stanley was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps upon graduating from South Carolina State University with a bachelors degree. He embarked on a military life that was distinguished by consistent promotion and ongoing education, becoming the Marine’s first-ever African-American regimental commander early in his career. Stanley was promoted to the ranks of Colonel and Brigadier General well ahead of the Marine Corps’ normal schedule, and has received numerous military honors for his service.

In addition to his bachelors degree in psychology, Stanley holds a masters degree in counseling with honors from Johns Hopkins University, honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from South Carolina State University and Spalding University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Throughout Stanley’s career in and out of the military, he trained and educated service men and women; raised merit-based scholarships for deserving high school students in local communities; tutored local elementary, middle- and high-school students; volunteered with a variety of education-related organizations and spoke nationally about education issues. Upon retiring from the military in 2002, Stanley joined the University of Pennsylvania as Executive Vice President.

Clifford L. Stanley brings a lifelong commitment to education and service to Scholarship America. As the nation’s largest nonprofit, private-sector scholarship organization, Scholarship America has distributed nearly $2 billion to more than 1.5 million students. Stanley envisions furthering Scholarship America’s mission by enabling all students, regardless of their financial status, to have access to higher education and the academic support they need, from the time they begin school until they complete post-secondary education.

His affiliations include the White House Fellows Foundation and Association, the Secretary of the Navy’s Advisory Subcommittee on Naval History, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Board, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity where he is a Life Member. He also currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Spalding University, on the South Carolina State University Foundation Board of Directors, Immediate Past President, Philadelphia Chapter of the South Carolina State University Alumni Association, member of Honorary Board of Advisors for the Fund for Veterans’ Education, and is Board President for the McCormick Educational Foundation. 

Dr. Clifford L. Stanley is married to the former Rosalyn Hill, of Charleston, South Carolina.  Their daughter, Angela, is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, currently stationed at the United States Naval Academy.