Preserving Institutional Heritage at Lane College

The National Trust for Historic Preservation posted "Preserving Lane College: Q&A with Dr. Logan Hampton and Sherill B. Scott," by Tiffany Tolbert, associate director, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust.

Last year, eight HBCUs were awarded funding to develop cultural heritage stewardship plans for their campuses and historic sites. "The sole goal of this initiative is to partner with HBCUs to empower and preserve the legacies of the campuses and ensure that the stories of their foundations are upheld to educate and inspire future generations of students to pay it forward." 

Dr. Logan Hampton and Sherill B. Scott provide a summary of efforts on the Lane College campus to preserve key aspects of institutional heritage.

It is noted that the "...history of Lane College first dates to 1878 when the Colored Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E) Church conceived of establishing a school in Tennessee. In 1882, Isaac Lane— who was formerly enslaved and now a bishop of the C.M.E. Church—purchased 4-acres of land in Jackson, Tennessee and established Lane College. Lane opened with the mission to educate formerly enslaved people and prepare new teachers and preachers."

Alcorn State University Sesquicentennial

Alcorn State University will be celebrating its sesquicentennial in 2021. The institution was founded in 1871 on the campus of the former Oakland College that closed in 1860. The name changed in 1878 to Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College and in 1974, to Alcorn State University.

Alcorn is the oldest public historically black land-grant institution in the United States and the second-oldest state-supported institution of higher learning in Mississippi.

Delaware State University Plans to Acquire Nearby Wesley College

Emma Whitford reports on the pending acquisition of Wesley College, "Delaware State Acquiring Wesley College," for Inside Higher Ed on July 20, 2020.

Whitford notes that this will be the first time a historically Black university buys a non-HBCU institution. Delaware State University president Tony Allen indicates plans call for completion of the process in June 2021. The institutions are both located in Dover, Delaware with just two miles separating the campuses.

Wesley College was founded as Wilmington Conference Academy in 1873. The name changed to Wesley Collegiate Institute and then to Wesley Junior College. The first baccalaureate degrees were offered after 1978. Whitford indicates 2019 enrollment of 1,229 undergraduates and 122 graduate students.

Delaware State University was founded as the State College for Colored Students in 1891. The name was changed to Delaware State College in 1947 and to Delaware State University in 1993. Enrollment in 2019 was 4,208 undergraduates and 378 graduate students.

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.

Barber-Scotia College Alumni and Trustees at Odds over Future of the Campus

WSOC-TV of Charlotte, NC posted a video and transcript by reporter Kristin Leigh, "Concord leaders, alumni concerned about future of Barber-Scotia College."  Leigh interviewed Concord, NC city officials and several alumnae of the college as she explored the current status of the institution.

The institution was founded in 1867 as Scotia Seminary. The name changed to Scotia Women's College in 1916 and later merged with Barber Memorial College [founded in Anniston, AL] in 1930 to become Barber-Scotia College. The institution was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.

The college lost SACS accreditation in 2004 and announced suspension of classes after 2004-05 academic year. It later reopened in fall 2008 and then suspended classes again January 2016, though the college website is now claiming to be enrolling students.

Those interested in the history of the college can find an interesting short video, "Long Live Barber-Scotia" on YouTube.

Spotlight on Archives of Spelman College and Atlanta University Center Institutions

The DL B, blog of the Digital Library of Georgia featured a number of items from the Spelman College Archives in a post several weeks ago, "Preserving and Sharing Spelman Archival Treasurers."  Mandy Mastrovita authored the post where she describes some of the items that are available through Our Story: Digitizing Publications and Photographs of the Historically Black Atlanta University Center Institutions", a partnership of the Spelman Archives, the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library Archives Research Center, and the Digital Library of Georgia.

The Our Story archives of the Atlanta University Center offers resources for studying African American higher education and a number of fascinating institutions:  Atlanta University, Clark College, Clark Atlanta University, Gammon Theological Seminary, Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, and Spelman College.