Saint Luke's College of Health Sciences will become part of Rockhurst University

Lily Lieberman reported in the Kansas City Business Journal on July 31, 2019 that Rockhurst University will absorb Saint Luke's College of Health Sciences, "Local university will absorb Saint Luke's nursing school."

Lieberman notes that the process requires approval from the Higher Learning Commission and officials at both institutions anticipate approval in 2020. Saint Luke's programs will move to the Rockhurst campus in 2022 following a complete renovation of Sedgwick Hall that was built in 1914.

Saint Luke's was founded by Saint Luke's Hospital as a diploma school of nursing in 1903 and offered a three-year program.  It was known as Saint Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing until 2010 when the name changed to Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences.  The last reported IPEDS enrollment was 665 students in programs ranging from associate's degrees through post-master's level certificates.

Rockhurst University was founded in 1914.  It enrolls 3,145 students in a variety of undergraduate and graduates programs.

You can learn more about the plans through statements on "The Future of Nursing at Rockhurst University" or "The Future of Health Sciences Education in Kansas City" on the Saint Luke's website.

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Museum and Archives Maintains Memory of Saint Paul's College

U.S. News & World Report posted an article by Bill Lohmann, a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter, "Group Keeps Saint Paul's College's History Alive With Museum," on February 16, 2019.  

The original article, "With new museum, grassroots group keeps alive the history of Saint Paul's College," was first published by the Times-Dispatch on January 6, 2019.

Lohmann relates the work of of community volunteers, including Saint Paul’s alumni, to form a nonprofit organization after the institution in Lawrenceville, VA closed in June 2013.  The James Solomon Russell-Saint Paul’s College Museum and Archives is now open several days a week and the group has a website where you can find more information, volunteer, or donate.

You can also review the Museum page on Facebook to follow activities of the group.

Information about Saint Paul's College and events leading up to its closure can be found in previous posts on College History Garden:

• Thursday, August 30, 2012 Saint Paul's College (VA) #1--initial suspension of classes
• Monday, May 13, 2013 Saint Paul's College (VA) #2--possible acquisition of Saint Paul's by Saint Augustine's University of Raleigh, NC
• Friday, May 31, 2013 St. Paul's College (VA) #3--closure of Saint Paul's
• Sunday, December 28, 2014 President of Saint Paul's College Recognized

In Shades of Sepia: The Story of Jubilee College...

I just finished reading In Shades of Sepia: The Story of Jubilee College as Told Through Letters and Other Documents and enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the institution.  Sue Swanson is the author and she focuses the early part of her book on Philander Chase and his family as they founded Jubilee College during his service as the first Episcopal Bishop of Illinois.   She begins with Chase's early life, including the time where he previously served as the founder of Kenyon College in Ohio.  Chapters are also devoted to what life was like at Jubilee, brief sketches for students and faculty, and descriptions of various buildings associated with the college.  

Actual construction on the college began in 1839 and expanded to include a dozen or more structures on a 3,500-acre tract of land. Jubilee College was comprised of a theological seminary, a college, a classical preparatory school for boys, and a “seminary” for girls, as well as small farming operations.  The college struggled as a frontier institution throughout its existence and no longer offered classes after 1862.  It opened briefly after the Civil War before closing again in 1868.  The site was also home to several other educational ventures before it was abandoned after 1912 and was ultimately given to the state of Illinois in 1935.  It is now operated as a state historic site adjacent to Jubilee College State Park.

While Swanson's book will be of interest to anyone wanting to know more about Jubilee College and the people who served there.  It is also a useful account for those who would like to learn more of life at a small frontier institution during the 19th century.  Swanson incorporated a number of photographs and includes a helpful list of sources.

You can contact the author at sueswa@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book.  The price will be $10.00 plus postage with proceeds going to the Friends of Jubilee College Historic Site.

For those who would like to learn more about efforts to maintain the site and preserve the history or the college, there is a Facebook page at Friends of Jubilee College Historic Site.

You can also find a few more photographs of the the historic site in a College History Garden post from last month, Open House at Jubilee College Historic Site this Weekend.

Open House at Jubilee College Historic Site this Weekend

The Friends of Jubilee College Historic Site are hosting an Open House on Saturday, August 18th beginning at 9:00 am.  I encourage readers to consider this opportunity for learning more about the founding of an early Illinois college. 

The Jubilee College Historic Site is located adjacent to Jubilee College State Park a few miles northwest of Peoria, IL.  The Friends of Jubilee College Historic Site deserve appreciation for their efforts to maintain the site at a time when state funding has largely disappeared.  You can also visit and like their Facebook page to learn more about group activities

Philander Chase, who previously founded Kenyon College in Ohio, also founded Jubilee College during his service as the first Episcopal Bishop of Illinois.  Construction on the college began in 1839 and expanded to include a dozen or more structures on a 3,500-acre tract of land. The institution included a theological seminary, a college, a classical preparatory school for boys, and a “seminary” for girls, as well as small farming operations.  The college struggled as a frontier institution and no longer offered classes after 1862.

President of Saint Paul's College Recognized

Millard D. 'Pete" Stith Jr. is recognized as on of the Richmond Times-Dispatch Faces of 2014.  Stith is serving as president of Saint Paul's College that closed in 2013.  Saint Paul's campus is located in Lawrenceville, VA.  Stith's reflections on the closing of Saint Paul's and the responsibility for stewardship of remaining assets and records are important for those interested in the closure of colleges.  A previous post in May 2014 links to an excellent video that features an interview with Stith and images of the campus.

Historical Marker for Okolona College (MS)

Lena Mitchell has an article from July 27, 2014 on the djournal.com web site covering the unveiling of a roadside marker commemorating the history of Okolona College in northern Mississippi.

Mitchell writes that, "Nellie Minor Adams, a graduate of the high school in 1945 and the college in 1947, read the inscription from the historical marker:  The Okolona Normal and Industrial School was founded in 1902 by Dr. Wallace A. Battle. It educated African-Americans through high school and provided industrial training for young adults. At its peak the school’s enrollment topped 200 students annually. In 1921, the school became affiliated with the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi and a member of the American Church Institute for Negroes. The school changed its name to Okolona College in 1934 and closed in 1965.”

See an earlier post on the College History Garden with links to photographs and other resources.

Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail (VA)

The Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail offers 41 sites on a self-guided driving tour in south central Virginia. A brochure with map and brief details for each site is available as a .pdf for download.

Among the institutions of higher education there are:

• Blackstone Female Institute, 1894-1950, affiliated with Methodist Episcopal Church, South
• Farmville Female Seminary, founded in 1839, now Longwood University
• and Saint Paul's College, 1888-2013, affiliated with Protestant Episcopal Church
• Virginia State University, founded in 1882
• Hampden-Sydney College, founded in 1775
• and Southside Virginia Community College, founded in 1970

Presiding Over a College's Final Days, An Interview

The Chronicle has an excellent video featuring an interview with the president of Saint Paul's College, Millard (Pete) Stith.  The video includes many images of the campus and along with insights offered by President Stith.  The institution in Lawrenceville, VA announced it will be closing in 2013.

Challenges of HBCUs Affiliated with Episcopal Church

The Episcopal News Service posted an interesting article by Sharon Sheridan on February 28, 2014 that explores the challenges of historically black institutions affiliated with the Episcopal Church.  Sheridan focuses on St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, VA that closed in June, 2013, St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC, and Voorhees College in Denmark, SC.  She also includes comments by Dr. Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

St. Paul's College (VA) #3

Denise B. Hawkins reports today in the May 31, 2013 issue of Diverse Issues in Higher Education that Saint Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Va. will cease operation on June 30th.  A spokesperson for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) apparently confirmed that Belle S. Wheelan, president of the regional accrediting body, had received a letter earlier in the week from the chairman of the board of trustees at Saint Paul’s College notifying her of the decision to close the 125-year-old institution. 

An earlier posting noted that Saint Paul's officials were unsuccessfully involved in conversations early in 2013 seeking an acquisition by Saint Augustine's University in Raleigh, NC.

More information on Saint Paul's history can be found in an August 2012 posting when it was first announced that classes were suspended.

WTVR, a CBS affiliate in Virginia provided coverage of the announced closure that includes video of the campus and discussion of the impact on the community.

Saint Paul's College (VA) #2

Saint Augustine's University in Raleigh, NC announced that it will not pursue a possible acquisition of Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, VA.  Saint Paul's College was founded in 1888 and is one of three remaining historically black institutions that are supported by the Episcopal Church.

Saint Mary's College (NC)

The Heritage: The Education of Women at St. Mary's College, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1842-1982 by Martha Stoops covers the history from the founding in 1842 through 1982.  Stoops crafted an exceptional institutional history that is packed with details of student and faculty life.  The institution in Raleigh, NC discontinued the college program in 1998 and continues as a college preparatory boarding and day school.  A timeline of key historical events is available from the St. Mary's website.

Alice Brown's "Case Study of a College that Closed: Saint Mary's College," in Changing Course: Reinventing Colleges, Avoiding Closure also includes a chapter devoted to Saint Mary's.

Okolona College (Mississippi)

Okolona Industrial School was founded in Okolona, MS in 1902 by Wallace A. Battle to provide normal and industrial education for African-American young people.  Wallace led the school until 1927 when he became Field Secretary for the American Church Institute for Negroes.  His wife, Effie T. Battle then led the school.  The name was changed to Okolona College in 1932.  Effie Battle departed and A.M. Strange was elected by trustees to lead the institution.  In 1965, the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi decided to withdraw support and the institution soon closed.

A fascinating study of the Okolona site was published in 1997 by The Small Town Center, a unit at the time of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University.  The case study of possible uses included an assessment of the existing buildings along with scale models for various alternatives.  The National Council of Negro Women had previously purchased the site and was hoping to develop facilities to serve multiple needs of the organization and the town of Okolona.  

Several more recent images of the Okolona College site have been posted on Panoramio.

Saint Paul's College (VA) #1

Karin Kapsidelis reports in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, VA suspended classes this fall pending the outcome of an appeal to an accreditation decision.

The archives of the Episcopal Church USA offers images and links to resources for St. Paul’s Normal and Industrial School (Lawrenceville, VA), St. Augustine’s Normal School and Collegiate Institute (Raleigh, NC), and Bishop Payne Divinity School (Petersburg, VA). Fort Valley High and Industrial School (Fort Valley, GA) and then Voorhees School and Junior College (Denmark, SC) joined the American Church Institute for Negroes (ACIN) as schools receiving the largest percentage of available funds. The ACIN was founded in 1906 to coordinate support for institutions in the southern United States that were dedicated to the education of African Americans. The ACIN was renamed the American Church Institute in 1961. Fort Valley’s transfer to the State of Georgia in 1939 (though ACIN continued its support to the school) and the closing of Bishop Payne in 1949 left the core institutions of St. Paul’s, St. Augustine’s, and Voorhees as the only schools affiliated with ACI when the organization dissolved in 1967.