Robert Shaw Wilkinson

Robert Shaw Wilkinson (born 18 February 1865) was an educator and the second president of South Carolina State University. As president, Wilkinson instituted a building program and created a State Teacher Summer School. Before becoming president, Wilkinson taught at Kentucky State University and South Carolina State University.

Early life Wilkinson was born in Charleston, South Carolina on February 18, 1865, to Charles and Lavinia A. Wilkinson.

He attended the Avery Normal Institute in Charleston, South Carolina. Later that year, Wilkinson entered an Oberlin College preparatory program and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1891. During his time as president, he instituted a building program in collaboration with Clemson University and Clafin College, as well as creating a State Teacher Summer School. They had four children together.