GPL park to be dedicated Tuesday, named for Gadsden native Clarence Underwood Jr.
The City of Gadsden and community partners will gather at 1 p.m. Tuesday to dedicate the park at the Gadsden Public Library, which will be named after a distinguished Gadsden native.
Dr. Clarence Underwood Jr. is expected to be in attendance for the ceremony, and to unveil a sign bearing the park's name. He also will be speaking to some Gadsden area students during this visit to his hometown, library Director Craig Scott said.
Underwood will have much to tell. He was a three-sport star at Carver High School in the 1950s and went on to play college football and graduate from Michigan State University. He held a number of positions as an educator for more than 30 years, including serving as director of Michigan State athletics from 1999 to 2002, and deputy commissioner of the Big Ten Conference in the 1980s.
"He was a legend at my university," Michigan State grad Scott told members of the Gadsden City Council. He credited a local group, the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, from the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter with suggesting that that park be named for Underwood.
Underwood was inducted into the Michigan State athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, and he continues to work with youth programs in East Lansing, Michigan.
Because the library is an educational institution, Scott said, he's pleased to see it named for a longtime educator.
The dedication and ribbon cutting will be at the park, across the street from the library's main branch at 254 College St., Gadsden.
Contact Gadsden Times reporter Donna Thornton at 256-393-3284 or donna.thornton@gadsdentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: GPL park to be named for Gadsden native, Michigan State legend
