Anthropology Professor ‘Dr. O’ Honors Famous Grandfather’s Legacy

College of Charleston adjunct professor of anthropology Ade Ofunniyin has been named one of CHARLIE magazine’s “50 Most Progressive.”

Ade Ofunniyin (“Dr. O”)

A native Charlestonian and grandson of the late renowned blacksmith Philip Simmons, Ofunniyin – known around campus as “Dr. O” – began teaching at the College in 1996 in the Young Scholars Program at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture.

Read the article in CHARLIE magazine.

He left Charleston in 1997 to pursue a Ph.D in anthropology at the University of Florida before returning to the College and the classroom in 2013.

What makes Ofunniyin progressive?

“I am progressive because I am a visionary and I believe in the goodness in humanity,” says Ofunniyin. “I am a servant to and lover of people.”

The profile in CHARLIE discusses Ofunniyin’s current efforts to document and celebrate his grandfather’s life and work. “I spent a great deal of time with my grandfather; I honor his legacy and he continues to watch over and guide me.”

Learn more about master blacksmith Philip Simmons in this online exhibition from the Lowcountry Digital History Initiative.