The Rev. Calvin Butts, influential Harlem pastor and former SUNY Old Westbury president, dies at 73

The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, who welcomed generations of worshippers from across the globe to Harlem's landmark Abyssinian Baptist Church, and who was the longest serving president at the State University of New York at Old Westbury, transforming the school's infrastructure and boosting enrollment, died Friday at age 73, the church announced.

No cause of death was announced.

An iconic civil rights leader who spent half a century at the famed church, Butts earned a reputation for working with political leaders across the ideological spectrum, driving resources to his communities, both in New York City and on Long Island.

"He was not only an advocate for equity for African Americans but an advocate for equity for a lot of underserved people," said Theresa Sanders, president and chief executive of the Urban League of Long Island, and Butts' friend of several decades. "He would see these disparities and was very vocal in letting people know that none of us benefit when there are people that are not having equal access and equal opportunities."

On Friday, Butts was mourned by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, State Attorney General Letitia James, Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who called him "a force for moral clarity, a voice for his Harlem community, a counselor to so many of us in public service."

Butts was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of a cook and a mother who worked in social service. The family moved to Queens, where he would graduate from Flushing High School. He would obtain a bachelor of arts from Morehouse College in Georgia, a master in divinity from Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan and a doctor of ministry in church and public policy from Drew University in New Jersey.

Butts joined the Abyssinian Baptist Church, one of the nation's largest and oldest Black churches, as a youth minister in 1972 and served as senior pastor for more than 30 years.

In the 1990s, Butts garnered national attention for a campaign condemning what he called the misogyny of rap music, famously using a steamroller to crush hundreds of hip-hop CDs outside the church.

"You don't have to degrade our women. You don't have to dehumanize our race. You don't have to use violent and vulgar language," Butts said during a 1993 rally inside the church.

Two years later, Butts hosted then-Cuban leader Fidel Castro at Abyssinian, where the fatigues-wearing communist leader received a hero's welcome.

Butts was instrumental in establishing both the Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change, an intermediate and high school in Harlem, as well as Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School.

Transformed SUNY Old Westbury

In 1995, then-Gov. George Pataki appointed Butts to the Empire State Development Corporation and the State Science and Technology Foundation, which controlled economic development grants to businesses.

In 1999, Pataki appointed Butts  president of SUNY Old Westbury, a move that provoked skepticism as the pastor worked full time in Harlem and had never held a job in academia. At the time, SUNY Old Westbury had struggled with declining enrollment and had been marked for possible closure. 

"It was kind of the stepchild of the SUNY system on Long Island," said state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who has known Butts since DiNapoli was an assemblyman on Nassau's North Shore more than 30 years ago. "But when Dr. Butts became president, he exerted his leadership skills, his many connections and his closeness with the governor to really turn around the administration."

During his 21-year tenure, Butts reinvigorated the university, growing enrollment by 56%, overseeing more than $200 million in capital construction and renovation projects, including the university’s first dorms, creating its first graduate programs, raising admissions standards and erecting a new academic center on the sprawling 604-acre campus.

Timothy Sams, who succeeded Butts as president of SUNY Old Westbury, said his predecessor carved out the university's niche as the system's most diverse institution.

"He personified that element of our mission," Sams said. "But within the framework of the institution; within the values of the institution; within the operations of the institution, he really provided a great focus on our principles of social justice."

Butts would continue to serve as the university's president emeritus until his death.

"Students at SUNY Old Westbury’s campus knew they were welcome and that he was their champion," SUNY leadership officials said in a statement. "His commitment to our students was unwavering, as he believed everyone deserves an excellent and affordable education to reach their dreams."

Part of LI community

DiNapoli recalled that Butts became part of the Long Island community, speaking frequently at Long Island churches large and small.

"He could talk to governors and mayors and presidents," he said. "But he had such a personal touch one-on-one with people."

Butts served on the leadership boards of the Melville-based Long Island Association, the Boy Scouts of America-Theodore Roosevelt Council in Massapequa, the Long Island Housing Partnership in Hauppauge and the Community Development Corp. of Long Island in Centereach.

LIA president and CEO Matt Cohen called Butts "a giant of his time who served his faith and his community with great passion. … His work has had a transformative impact on Long Island by educating future generations and advocating for our region’s economic growth."

Kevin Law, chairman of Empire State Development, the state’s primary business-aid agency, said Butts cared deeply about the future of Long Island.

"He was a champion of the region’s efforts to create more affordable housing and to invest in the five SUNY colleges on Long Island," Law said.

Butts is survived by his wife, Patricia Butts, their three children and six grandchildren.

With AP, James Madore and Olivia Winslow

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.