February Eight...

Delaware State University

Topics: African Americans, Civil Rights, Education, Human Rights, Women's Rights

Concordia College, Alabama (closed 2018)

SELMA, Ala. — Following three days of celebration and remembrance, students, families, faculty and regents gathered on the campus of Concordia College Alabama (CCA) on April 28 for the school’s 92nd and final commencement.

Founded in 1922, the historically black Lutheran college closed its doors for good following the ceremony after a multi-year effort to stay open.

“When it was started, there were 30-plus Lutheran schools teaching the black population across this area of Alabama at a time when a black child had no opportunity to learn to read and write,” said Roderick Olson, a member of the CCA Board of Regents, recalling how The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) stepped in at the request of the unstoppable black education pioneer, Dr. Rosa J. Young.

Founded as a preparatory school to train teachers for the elementary schools established by Young, the school frequently adapted to the changing times and needs of the church.

What began as Alabama Junior Academy ultimately became a four-year institution for African-American students in the Deep South who would go on to become teachers or Lutheran pastors. Reporter: Official Newspaper of the Lutheran Church

Coppin State University

Coppin State University is a model urban, residential liberal arts university located in the northwest section of the City of Baltimore that provides academic programs in the arts and sciences, teacher education, nursing, graduate studies, and continuing education. An HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), Coppin has a culturally rich history as an institution providing quality educational programs and community outreach services. Coppin offers 53 majors and nine graduate-degree programs. A fully accredited institution, Coppin serves Baltimore residents as well as students from around the world, with flexible course schedules that include convenient day, evening, and weekend classes and distance learning courses.

Coppin was founded in 1900 at what was then called Colored High School (later named Douglass High School) on Pennsylvania Avenue by the Baltimore City School Board who initiated a one-year training course for the preparation of African-American elementary school teachers. By 1902, the training program was expanded to a two-year Normal Department within the high school, and seven years later it was separated from the high school and given its own principal.

In 1926, this facility for teacher training was named Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School in honor of the outstanding African-American woman who was a pioneer in teacher education. Fanny Jackson Coppin was born a slave in Washington, D.C. She gained her freedom, graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio, and founded the Philadelphia Institute that was the forerunner of Cheyney State University.

By 1938 the curriculum of the normal school was lengthened to four years, authority was given for the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree, and the name of the Normal School was changed to Coppin Teachers College. In 1950, Coppin became part of the higher education system of Maryland under the State Department of Education, and renamed Coppin State Teachers College. Two years later Coppin moved to its present 38-acre site on West North Avenue.

Delaware State University

The Delaware College for Colored Students, now known as Delaware State University, was established May 15, 1891, by the Delaware General Assembly under the provisions of the Morrill Act of 1890 by which land-grant colleges for Blacks came into existence in states maintaining separate educational facilities. With the appointment of an inaugural six-member Board of Trustees, that governing body used part of the initial $8,000 state appropriation to purchase a 95-acre property north of the state capital of Dover to establish the new college.

Because there was already a private Delaware College (now the University of Delaware) located in Newark, Del., to avoid confusion new state legislation was passed and enacted in early 1893 to change the black school’s name to the State College for Colored Students. That would be the institution’s name for the next 54 years.

Through the conservative and practical planning of the Board of Trustees appointed by Delaware Gov. Robert J. Reynolds, the College was launched upon its mission of education and public service on February 2, 1892. Five courses of study leading to a baccalaureate degree were offered: Agricultural, Chemical, Classical, Engineering and Scientific. A Preparatory Department was established in 1893 for students who were not qualified to pursue a major course of study upon entrance. A three-year normal course leading to a teacher’s certificate was initiated in 1897. The College graduated its first class of degree candidates in May 1898. The normal course of study (teacher education) was extended to four years in 1911 and the Bachelor of Pedagogy degree was awarded to students upon satisfactory completion of the curriculum.

Denmark Technical College

Mission Statement

Denmark Technical College is a public, comprehensive, Historically Black, two-year technical college located in rural Bamberg County in South Carolina. The college annually serves approximately 2,000 credit and continuing education students, a mix of traditional, nontraditional, full-time and part-time. Denmark Technical College is the only technical college in the State of South Carolina with on-campus housing. As a member of the South Carolina Technical College System, Denmark Technical College’s mission is related to the educational mission of the State of South Carolina and the Technical College System. The College's primary service area is comprised of Bamberg, Barnwell, and Allendale Counties with a legislated mandate to serve students throughout the state. As an open-door institution, the College provides affordable, post-secondary education culminating in associate degrees, diplomas, and certificates, to citizens from diverse educational and socioeconomic backgrounds and reaches out to its service area high schools with opportunities for the students. The college provides training needed by business and industry through collaborative partnerships and resource allocation.

Denmark Technical College: 1) Provides Student Learning Outcome based educational opportunities for its students with embedded continuous improvement plan that will afford the necessary skills and knowledge for the emerging job market. 2) Develops and implements processes for seamless transition of students from high school through Denmark Technical College to four year institutions. 3) Provides the graduates with the intellectual and practical skills to include but not limited to inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking, written and oral communications, quantitative literacy, information literacy, teamwork and problem solving. 4) Provides the graduates with the personal and social responsibility skills to include but not limited to civic knowledge and engagement—local and global, intercultural knowledge and competence, ethical reasoning and action, foundations and skills for lifelong learning. 5) Engages in efforts to form extensive partnerships/consortia leading to branding the college as a leader in training for the business and industry that will enhance the economic development and growth of the service area and the state. 6) Provides a competency based program for the students to attain and maintain certifications for the job market.