Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, a senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, a prominent religious leader and a former president of SUNY Old Westbury, died on Friday at 73.
“It is with profound sadness, we announce the passing of our beloved pastor, Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts lll, who peacefully transitioned in the early morning of Oct. 28, 2022,” the Abyssinian Baptist Church tweeted. “The Butts Family & entire Abyssinian Baptist Church membership solicit your prayers.”
Butts had a large role in New York City issues and politics. He was the pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, one of the city’s largest congregations, for nearly three decades. He had been a part of the church since 1972.
Butts was born in 1949 in Connecticut and raised in New York. After graduating from Flushing High School in Queens, he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He later returned to New York to complete his doctorate in ministry at Drew University in New Jersey and his master’s degree in divinity at Union Theological Seminary.
Butts was the president of SUNY Old Westbury from 1999 to 2020. Under his leadership, Old Westbury received significant national and international recognition. This included receiving recognition for its academically embedded civic engagement program for first-generation college students for nine consecutive years.
“I had the pleasure of engaging with Dr. Butts a few times since my arrival on campus,” Old Westbury President Timothy E. Sams, who succeeded Butts, said in a statement. “I was, and always will remain, impressed not only by his love for this institution and its people, but for his belief in the powerful role SUNY Old Westbury must play in providing access to a high-quality education and for its historic commitment to social justice.”
Butts, also a social activist, battled poverty and racism. He established the nonprofit Abyssinian Development Corporation to construct low-income housing, retail, schools and other community projects.
Butts encouraged church leaders to support AIDS-related initiatives in the 1980s. A COVID-19 vaccination clinic was recently established in Abyssinian to encourage locals to become immunized against the virus.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III,” Sen. Charles Schumer said in a statement. “For 50 years he nobly served Abyssinian Baptist Church and SUNY Old Westbury fighting for equality. He was a dear friend and I often sought his counsel. My prayers are with his family and the many lives he touched with his ministry.”
Butts’ wife, Patricia, three children and six grandchildren survive him.
