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PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Honorable Joseph P. Riley, Jr., former mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Chestnut Hill College at the Woodward Gala Celebration dinner on Thursday, June 9.
Chestnut Hill College honors individuals who exemplify the Mission of the College by devoting their lives to the betterment of others in a variety of ways. Joseph P. Riley, Jr. exemplifies the College’s core values of excellence, ethical principles, service, and a holistic pursuit of truth, integrity, and justice. It is with great pride that we recognize the accomplishments of Joseph P. Riley, Jr., former mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, for a life dedicated to the common good and to building relationships among all people.
Visionary leader, moderate bridge-builder, notable innovator, Joseph P. Riley, Jr., is widely considered one of the most highly effective government leaders in America, having served an unprecedented ten terms as Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina from 1975 – 2015. He is perhaps best known for handling the 1989 natural disaster, Hurricane Hugo, when his calm and forceful leadership saved many lives; and most recently when he led the city of Charleston, South Carolina through the shocking murder of nine members of the Emanuel African-American Methodist Episcopal Church — working diligently to bring the community together in a spirit of healing and reconciliation. During this horrific tragedy, Mayor Riley was described as angry but comforting, hurting but strong.
During his tenure, Mayor Riley led a city government with an impressive record of innovation in public safety, housing, arts and culture, children’s issues, the creation of parks and other public spaces and economic revitalization and development. Under his extraordinary leadership, the City of Charleston increased its commitment to racial harmony and progress and achieved a substantial decrease in crime. Charleston is now recognized as one of the most livable and progressive cities in the United States, and one of the top ten cities in the world to visit.
A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Mayor Riley graduated from Bishop England High School, the Citadel and the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1967. One year later he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives where he served for six years. He has received honorary degrees from The Citadel, the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, the Medical University of South Carolina, Winthrop University and the College of Charleston.
Over the past 40 years, Mayor Riley received numerous honors and awards, too many to cite here. President Barack Obama presented Mayor Riley with the 2009 National Medal of the Arts at the White House for cultivating Charleston’s historic and cultural resources to enhance public spaces and for revitalizing urban centers throughout our nation. The American Architectural Foundation and the U. S. Conference of Mayors created The Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Award for Leadership in City Design in his honor in 2010. Additional awards include the Outstanding Mayors Award from the National Urban Coalition, The Thomas Jefferson Award for “his exceptional leadership and ‘Jeffersonian’ vision in redefining the promise and, ultimately the future, of our nation and its cities,” and the South Carolina Governor’s Award in the Humanities.
About the Woodward Celebration
The Philadelphia neighborhood of Chestnut Hill hosted a variety of special events to honor the Houston-Woodward family's contributions to sustainability, civic engagement and urban planning in Philadelphia over the past 130 years. The Woodward family has long served as champions for creating, preserving and promoting the well-regarded quality of life in Chestnut Hill.
The Woodward family connection with Charleston, South Carolina stems from the marriage in 1933 of Chestnut Hill's Charles Woodward to Elizabeth Gadsden of Charleston. Beginning in the late 1950s, Charles and Betty Woodward restored a number of historic houses and other properties in Charleston. They also purchased real estate along Charleston's waterfront and turned it over to the city for parkland.
These activities prompted Mayor Joseph Riley to remark that the Woodwards had "done as much for Charleston as anyone I've ever met." As a further recognition of the Woodwards' generosity to the city, Riley, who recently stepped down as mayor after 40 years, delivered a talk about the Woodwards and their connections to Charleston upon receiving an honorary degree from Chestnut Hill College during at the Woodward Gala celebration on the College’s campus.
About Chestnut Hill College
Celebrating more than 90 years of tradition and risk, Chestnut Hill College is a four-year coed Catholic college in the Ignatian tradition that offers a traditional liberal arts undergraduate program as well as accelerated undergraduate degrees, master’s and doctoral programs. The College has been rated by US News & World Report as among the best master’s universities in the North, as among the best Northeastern colleges by The Princeton Review, and has been classified as selective by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Since 1924, the College has offered a rigorous curriculum that provides students with a broad background in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. The goal of Chestnut Hill College has been to prepare students for life’s challenges by helping them to grow intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and socially.
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