Rev. Dr. Eric Mack & Dr. Barbara Dawson Dilligard
“How to Help ‘Failing’ Schools’”
Air Date: Saturday, March 19, 2022
“If you tell a person with a failing attitude they’re failing, they’re going to fulfill your prophecy.” – Dr. Barbara Dawson Dilligard
This week, The Chef sits down with retired educator and active consultant Dr. Barbara Dawson Dilligard and returning guest and political veteran Rev. Dr. Eric Mack to continue the conversation on education in the Lowcountry. The conversation opens with an exploration of what it means to be a so-called “failing school” and how labels like “failing” affect the children branded with them. Then the conversation turns to problem solving – after-school activities and alternative learning methods that reach every child where they are, not just those who thrive in a classroom setting.
Bios:
Rev. Dr. Eric Mack
For well over 20 years, Rev. Dr. Eric L. Mack, Sr. has been a notable leader in the Charleston, SC community. He currently serves as the Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in the City of Charleston. Dr. Mack is a Service Excellence Coordinator at the Medical University of South Carolina, and he is also the Chair for Charleston County School District Board of Trustees. Dr. Mack has been employed by MUSC since 1998. In November 2014, he successfully ran and was elected to the Charleston County School Board of Trustees where he has served as Board Chairman since 2019.
A native of Wadmalaw Island, Dr. Mack is driven by this passion to serve the area where he was raised. Being educated through the Johns and Wadmalaw Island school system solidified his zeal, which led to him being a vocal advocate for public education and political issues. Dr. Mack served three consecutive four-year terms on the Charleston County Constituent School Board, District Nine, from 1996 to 2008. He is the founder and past chair of The Islanders’ Education Fund Board of Trustees, and he is also a past board member of the Sea Island Youth for Partnership.
In the midst of Dr. Mack’s increased public service commitment, he answered the divine call upon his life and was licensed to preach in April 2001. He was officially installed as Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in December 2003 and became an ordained reverend in January 2004. Under Dr. Mack’s leadership, Bethany’s church motto “working and pulling together” was brought into fruition, focusing on kingdom activities within the church, as well as in surrounding communities.
Dr. Mack has worked on several political campaigns. In June 2006, he ran for State House of Representative Seat 116 and ran for a Charleston County Council Seat, District Eight, in 2010. He is the past president of The Wadmalaw Island Precincts I and II, as well as a past executive committee member for the Charleston County Democratic Party.
Dr. Mack is dedicated to positively impacting the quality of life for others through activism and partnerships with communities and organizations. He completed his 15-year tenure on the Board of Trustees for the Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care Corporation as an Executive Assistant Secretary. In October 2006, Dr. Mack was appointed to the South Carolina Advisory Board for the Protection and Advocacy for Disabled People in Columbia, SC, serving until September 2014. He is also the past chairperson for the South Carolina Minority Rural Outreach Program for Disabled People.
Dr. Mack is the son of the late Henry Pharr and Lillie Mae Mack. He completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Christian Education at Andersonville Baptist Theological Seminary. He furthered his trajectory of higher learning and rightfully earned a Doctorate of Divinity from International Seminary. Dr. Mack and his wife, Calvinetta, have two children, Eric Jr. and Emoni. He and his family currently reside in Wadmalaw Island.
Dr. Barbara Dawson Dilligard
Dr. Barbara Dawson Dilligard is an innovative educator and community leader who has worked untiringly for students and adults to actualize their full potential. As the President and CEO of her management consultant firm, Karaton Services, LLC, and the retired Deputy Superintendent for the Charleston County School District (CCSD), Dr. Dilligard has created programs to serve the underprivileged and disadvantaged students of Charleston County. During her tenure with the CCSD, she led many successful campaigns and programs that received state and national recognition. Her leadership in education circles has resulted in high student achievement, new teacher leadership and recruitment, and school principal leadership development.
She also authored and co-authored a number of competitive federal, state and foundation grants totaling more than $70 million for the school district, non-profit organizations, health agencies, and other community-based organizations to serve students, staff, faculty and community service organizations. One major initiative of which she is most proud is the creation of the Military Magnet Academy, the first public military middle/high school in the Charleston County School District and the state.
Her work with the Greater Charleston YWCA, COBRA Human Services Agency and Sickle Cell Program; City of Charleston Planning and Zoning Commission and its first Commission on Women; Boards of the Trident United Way, March of Dimes, Trident Urban League and the Burke High School Foundation are examples of the many service organizations that have benefitted from Dr. Dilligard’s strategic planning and initiatives to make our community a better place to live.
Barbara Dilligard is a true entrepreneur and a lifelong learner who received her doctorate degree from Vanderbilt University, an MBA from The Citadel, and a BS degree in Mathematics from Johnson C. Smith University. She has done further study at Harvard University and the College of Charleston and continues to learn through certification programs and specialized training seminars. Through her current business venture, she continues to consult as a program evaluator and grants writer for school districts across the nation, helping schools and districts redirect their resources and programs to achieve student success.
Developing curriculum, evaluating projects for magnet schools, overhauling and developing salary schedules, managing Race-to-the Top grants, helping schools to transition for success, and mentoring principals for effective school management are among her many school district services.
Her school district client list includes DeKalb County School District in Atlanta, Ga.; Lorain City Schools and Cleveland City Schools in Ohio; Los Angeles Unified School District; Kansas City School District; Charleston County School District, Richland County School District 1 and Horry County School District in South Carolina.
At retirement, the Charleston County School Board of Trustees named the Burke High School Media Center in her honor. Subsequent to that, the Fine Arts building at the Military Magnet Academy was also named in her honor. Barbara is an ordained Deacon in the Charleston First Assembly of God Church where she also serves as Church Business Administrator, Board Treasurer, member of the Women’s Ministry and the Gospel Choir.
Dr. Dilligard and her late husband, Rufus, are the proud parents of two daughters: Attorney Latonya Dilligard Edwards McDuffie and Kara Dilligard; two grandchildren, Langston and Bellamy, and her son-in-law, Isaih McDuffie. Barbara is one of 12 children born to the late Joseph and Bessie Dawson.
