The University of South Carolina has recognized students, faculty and staff members for their work on campus and in the larger community with 2025 Social Justice Awards.
The University of South Carolina created the Social Justice Awards to recognize individuals who have exemplified the philosophies of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. through acts of community service, social justice or racial reconciliation.
The award recipients will be honored at the university's annual MLK Commemorative Breakfast on Friday (Jan. 17).
Devin Randolph
Clinical assistant professor, College of Education
Education professor Devin Randolph's professional journey reflects his dedication to social justice, equity and community empowerment.
As a former assistant vice president for student development and services at Claflin University, Randolph cultivated an inclusive campus culture that encouraged students from diverse backgrounds to excel.
His leadership extended to his role as director of special projects at USC’s Anne Frank Center, where he championed Holocaust education initiatives. Through partnerships with American University, Claflin and others, he inspired students to embrace social justice and understand historical injustices.
Randolph has worked with previous social justice award winner and fellow College of Education professor Rabbi Meir Muller on several initiatives, including a project to understand antisemitism and racism from a global perspective. As part of their research, they traveled to the University of Oxford in England.
“One of the things we were really passionate about is trying to understand some of the contours of antisemitism and racism more broadly,” Randolph says. “At the University of Oxford, we worked with an organization that forced us to really think about how do we bring new content back to our host and home institutions.”
Through collaboration with the Academic Engagement Network, the content became a special topic course for graduate students, both in education as well as other disciplines.
“It gave us an opportunity to really do something different in terms of having a graduate-level course that looked at these types of issues for the first time for the University of South Carolina,” he says.
Randolph also has spearheaded initiatives that foster alliances between historically Black colleges and universities and Jewish communities. Through a four-year project with the Academic Engagement Network, he has partnered with HBCUs across South Carolina to build restorative tools for combating racism and antisemitism.
“Dr. Randolph’s work at Voorhees University and across multiple HBCUs builds essential relationships between Black and Jewish communities, furthering Dr. King’s vision of intercommunal solidarity,” Muller wrote in his nomination of Randolph for the award. “His previous initiatives at the Anne Frank Center continue to engage students, youth leaders, and educators in social change, establishing a foundation for long-term impact on future generations.”
This program has included over 300 participants and is a part of leadership development for students.
Randolph credits growing up in a rural community, where he learned resilience and the importance of community from his grandmother, for his commitment to social justice. He views inclusivity as a process that begins with self-reflection and extends to engaging all stakeholders in decision-making processes.
He says the work is similar to the training he does as a marathon runner, which requires persistence, discipline and collective effort. His leadership emphasizes the importance of building authentic relationships and understanding the lived experiences of marginalized communities.