Bennett College

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Bennett College
Image:Bennett college logo.gif
Established1873
Type:Private women's college
President:Julianne Malveaux (2007-present)
Undergraduates:572
Postgraduates:0
LocationGreensboro, North Carolina, USA
Campus:Urban
Colors:Blue and white            
Mascot:The Belles
Website:bennett.edu

Bennett College is a four-year liberal arts women's college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Founded in 1873, this historically black institution began as a normal school to provide education to newly emancipated slaves. It became a women's college in 1926 and currently serves roughly 600 undergraduates. Bennett has been described as the Vassar of the South, of historically black higher-education institutions in the United States.

Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou have recently offered public support to Bennett College.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Bennett's founding and coeducational years

Bennett College was founded by Albion Tourgee an activist in the second half of the 19th century who championed the cause of racial equality. The school held its inaugural classes in the basement of Warnersville Methodist Episcopal Church North (now St. Matthew's United Methodist) in Greensboro. At its inception, Bennett was a coeducational school (offering both high school and college level courses), and remained so until 1926. The year after its founding, the school became sponsored by the Freedman's Aid Society and Southern Education Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The school remained in temporary quarters for several years, until donations from New York businessman Lyman Bennett provided sufficient funds to build a permanent campus. Bennett died soon thereafter, and the school was named Bennett Seminary in his honor.

In 1888, Bennett Seminary elected its first African-American school president, the Reverend Charles Grandison. Grandison spearheaded a successful drive to have the school chartered as a four year college in 1889. Under his direction, and the direction of the president who followed him (Jordan Chavis), Bennett College grew from 11 undergraduate students to a total of 251 undergraduates by 1905. The enrollment leveled out in the 1910s at roughly 300.

[edit] Reorganization as a women's college

From the Bennett College page at stateuniversity.com [1]

In 1926, Bennett College, which had long had a close working relationship with the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, chose to reorganize as Bennett College for Women. In the wake of World War I, increased opportunities for women had increased the need for colleges that would prepare young women for greater social and commercial opportunity. David Dallas Jones was appointed the first president of the women's college -- under his leadership, the high school campus at Bennett was closed to focus the attentions of the staff fully on expanding and enriching the college curriculum. After Jones's death, Willa B. Player assumed the presidency -- under her guidance, Bennett College became one of the first 15 four-year African American colleges to be admitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools....

[edit] Bennett today

Roughly 600 students, all women and primarily of African-American descent, are enrolled in one of Bennett's 24 degree programs. Bennett is currently ranked #16 among the top historically black colleges and universities, both for its academic achievements and its relatively reasonable tuition rates. Today Bennett is reorganizing and revitalizing its campus and academic infrastructure. Bennett's historical and official brother school is Morehouse College in Atlanta,GA.

[edit] Presidents of the College

There have been fifteen principals or presidents of Bennett College [2]

  1. W.J. Parker (principal) (1874 - 1877)[2]
  2. Reverend Edward O. Thayer ([1877]] - 1881)[2]
  3. Reverend Wilbur F. Steele - (1881 - 1889)[2]
  4. Reverend Charles N. Grandison - (1889 - 1892)[2]
  5. Dr. Jordan Chavis - (1892-1905)[2]
  6. Reverend Silas A. Peeler - (1905 - 1913)[2]
  7. Professor James E. Wallace - (1913 - 1915)[2]
  8. Reverend Frank Trigg - (1915 - 1926)[2]
  9. David Dallas Jones - (1926 - 1955)[3]
  10. Dr. Willa B. Player - (1956 - 1966)[4]
  11. Dr. Isaac H. Miller, Jr. - (1966 - ???)
  12. Dr. Gloria Randle Scott - (1987 - 2001)
  13. Dr. Althia F. Collins - (2001 - 2002)[5]
  14. Dr. Charles Fuget - (2002, interim)[5]
  15. Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole - (2002 - 2007)
  16. Dr. Julianne Malveaux (beginning June 1, 2007)

[edit] Unique academic programs

Bennett has incorporated three new programs[6] that are aimed at increasing students' awareness of the struggles and accomplishments of all women, especially those of African descent; and staying in-step with the ever-changing climate of today's globally integrated society: Womanist Religious Studies, Global Studies, and Africana Women's Studies.

[edit] Residence halls

Referred to as Living Learning Centers, Bennett College houses its students in the following six facilities:

  • Carrie Barge Hall
  • Laura Cone Hall
  • Robert E. Jones Hall
  • Annie Merner Pfeiffer Hall
  • Willa B. Player Hall
  • Jessie Reynolds Hall

[edit] Student organizations

There are approximately 50 campus organizations including social, service, religious, music organizations; departmental and special interest clubs; honor societies; and the student government association. The four historically black Greek letter sororities - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated, and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated - are also active on campus and govern themselves through the Pan-Hellenic Council.

[edit] Notable alumnae

Among Bennett's more distinguished alumnae include:

  • Dr. Glenora M. Putnam, the first African-American woman to serve as president of the national YWCA
  • Faye Robinson, an accomplished and internationally well-known opera singer
  • Dr. Hattie Carwell, a noted research scientist and expert in the study of radiation
  • Barbara Hamm, the first African-American woman to serve as a television news director in the United States
  • Patricia Brown, serving as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) as of 2004
  • Yvonne J. Johnson,first black mayor of Greensboro, North Carolina
  • Dr. Linda B. Brown author and professor of English at Bennett College
  • Dr. Allethia Lee Allen, professor-emeritus, University of Washington

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bennett College page at stateuniversity.com
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bennett College, a haven for Education . . .. The African American Registry (2005-08-01). Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
  3. ^ IHE Bachelor's Performance Report, Bennett College, 2003-2004. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  4. ^ Willa Player encouraged and taught many!. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  5. ^ a b Bennett names interim president (2002-02-01). Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
  6. ^ New Programs, Bennett College for Women


[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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