Oldest HBCUs
|
Oldest HBCUs (4-year public and private) 1. 1837 Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (Cheyney, PA) 2. 1854 Lincoln University of Pennsylvania (Lincoln University, PA) 3. 1856 Wilberforce University (Wilberforce, OH) 4. 1857 Harris-Stowe State College (St. Louis, MO) 5. 1862 LeMoyne-Owen College (Memphis, TN) 6. 1865 Shaw University The first HBCU in the South (Raleigh, NC) Source: College Board Annual Survey of Colleges The history of Black colleges and universities dates back to 1837 when Richard Humphreys, a Quaker philanthropist from Philadelphia, started the Institute for Colored Youth to counter the prevailing practice of limiting or prohibiting the education of Blacks. Today that school is known as Cheyney University. Although the institute started out as a high school, it began offering its first degrees in the 1930's. Other major HBCU related founding dates: * 1854 - Ashmun Institute in Lincoln, Pennsylvania, an all-male college and the first institution in the world to provide higher education in the arts and sciences for Blacks (now called Lincoln University) * 1856 - Wilberforce University in Ohio, affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, became the first co-educational college for Blacks * 1867 - North Carolina's Barber-Scotia College in Concord, Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, and St. Augustine's College in Raleigh were all founded * 1867 - MeHarry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, has trained more than one-third of the Black physicians and dentists practicing in the U.S. today * 1887 - Spelman College in Atlanta, is the nation's oldest liberal arts college for Black women * 1881 - Tuskegee University was founded by Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee, Alabama * 1925 - though founded as N.C. College for Negroes, N.C. Central University in Durham, North Carolina became the nation's first state-supported liberal arts college for Blacks * 1944 - The United Negro College Fund incorporated to raise money and provide services for private Black colleges. Today, the fund has reportedly raised more than $1 billion for 41 institutions since its founding Today, 103 recognized Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are dotted across the country in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the US Virgin Islands. Alabama has the most with 14. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
Comments
|
Gabrielle Williams
Unfortunately, the grand writer of this well written article has skipped over my illustrious University, Lincoln University of MO. Lincoln University was founded in 1866 by the enlisted men and officers of the 62nd and 65th Colored Infantries, LU was designed to meet the educational and social needs of freed African-Americans. A few of our notable Alumni include, Lloyd L. Gaines, on of the primary gateways to the Brown VS. The Board of Education. Also, Captain Wendell O. Pruitt, U.S. Army Air Force, fighter pilot of the 332nd Fighter Group (Tuskegee Airmen). As well as. median Joe Tory. In the early 1920s through the 1930s Lincoln was named the "Harvard of the Midwest by W.E.B. Dubois! Lincoln University is the creator and hosts of the ten time Mr. Historical Black Colleges and Universities. To know more about our rich history, reply to me or ask more questions.
Marketing Intern to the Director of University Relations at Lincoln University of MO University Relations Sunday, September 22nd 2013 at 7:09AM |
More From This Author
Latest News
|
|
FAMU's Grads Are Back connects students with alumni and career opportunitiesFlorida A&M University's School of Journalism and Graphic Communication (SJGC) welcomed alumni and industry professionals to campus Oct. 21-22 for its annual Grads Are Back celebration, connecting stu ...more
Reginald Claremont • 68 Views • November 5th, 2026 |
|
|
New Spelman College President, Dr. Ayanna Howard , Authors Book On Creating An AI That Works For AllDr. Ayanna Howard is an innovator, entrepreneur, expert in robotics and AI, and the 12th president of the esteemed Spelman College. She's worked to develop Mars rover technologies as a Senior Robotics ...more
Reginald Claremont • 75 Views • November 5th, 2026 |
|
|
HISTORY MADE! CONGRATULATIONS, KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS! 🐍🧡💚From Florida A&M University to the Governor's Mansion! Congratulations to FAMU alumna Keisha Lance Bottoms on making history as **Georgia's first Black governor and the first Black woman elected gover ...more
Cata Rizzle • 207 Views • November 3rd, 2026 |
|
|
Souls to the Polls: HBCU Students Turn Anger Into Action in the 2026 MidtermsThousands of HBCU students organized "March to the Polls" demonstrations for the 2026 midterms — including 500+ in South Carolina and 800+ newly registered voters across 10 campuses — as M ...more
Roger Gates • 239 Views • November 3rd, 2026 |
|
|
Morehouse Freshman Gabriel McDonald Finds His Voice Through a Story of Family, Home, and Legacy.For Morehouse College freshman Gabriel McDonald, a family home holds more than memories; it carries the history and relationships at the heart of his award-winning screenplay, When Walls Speak. The em ...more
• 82 Views • November 3rd, 2026 |
Popular News
|
|
Louisiana Upholds Life Sentence to Black Man For Stealing Hedge Trimmers in 1997While this may not be HBCU related news, as an AFrican American male, I had to share this appalling decision by the Louisiana court system to keep a man in jail with a life sentence for such a petty c ...more
Roger Gates • 406,380 Views • August 6th, 2020 |
|
|
Blonde Instagram Model Goes Viral for Graduating from HBCU and Pledging Delta Sigma Theta!A blonde woman is going viral this morning, for graduating from A Historically Black College while pledging a Black sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
@Blonde_HBCU
The woman, an IG ...more
Roger Gates • 190,732 Views • November 30th, 2020 |
|
|
Apple to Invest over $40 Million Dollars into HBCUs - Time to major in Computer Science!!!On Tuesday Johnny C. Taylor, President and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund stopped by “NewsOne Now” to make a major announcement that could literally change the lives of thousands of HBCU st ...more
Roger Gates • 131,408 Views • March 11th, 2015 |
|
|
North Carolina HBCU Unity DayShaw University - Elizabeth City State University - Johnson C. Smith University - Fayetteville State University - Livingstone College - North Carolina A&T State University - North Carolina Central Uni ...more
Reginald Claremont • 120,465 Views • August 8th, 2016 |
|
|
Black Billionaire Robert F. Smith to Donate $50 Million to Support STEM Students at HBCUsThe Student Freedom Initiative announced today a $50 million personal gift from Robert F. Smith, philanthropist and Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. This gift matches the initial fu ...more
Roger Gates • 87,080 Views • October 22nd, 2020 |



