May 18, 2020

Agriculture industry mourns death of Virginia State University’s Clinton V. Turner

The College of Agriculture at Virginia State University has announced the death of Clinton V. Turner on Friday, May 15, 2020.

Turner was a stalwart leader in the higher education and agriculture communities; having served as an Extension agent, program leader, district director with the Virginia Cooperative Extension program at Virginia Tech and as associate vice president for agriculture at Virginia State University (VU). He was also a founding member of the Association of Extension Administrators.

Turner was tapped by then Gov. L. Douglas Wilder to serve as Secretary of Agriculture for the Commonwealth of Virginia; a role that made him not only Virginia’s first black commissioner but also the nation’s first.

Turner’s tireless efforts to further the agriculture industry resulted in his being the first Virginian and first VSU alumnus to be inducted into the George Washington Carver Public Service Hall of Fame. Additional information about funeral arrangements can be found at Scotts Funeral Home in Richmond, Virginia.