Virginia Union University
Virginia Union University (VUU) is a private historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. It took its present name in 1899 upon the merger of two older schools, Richmond Theological Institute and Wayland Seminary, each founded after the end of American Civil War by the American Baptist Home Mission Society. In 1932, Hartshorn Memorial College, a women's college, merged with VUU.
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Motto | The Lord Will Provide |
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Type | Private, HBCU |
Established | 1875 |
Religious affiliation | American Baptist Churches USA & National Baptist Convention |
Endowment | $29 million |
President | Hakim Lucas |
Students | 1,700 |
Location | , , United States 37°33′45.8″N 77°27′3″W |
Campus | Urban, 84 acres (33.99 ha) |
Colors | Maroon and Steel |
Athletics | NCAA Division II |
Nickname | Panthers |
Affiliations | Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association |
Website | www.vuu.edu |
Virginia Union University | |
Location | 1500 N. Lombardy St., Richmond, Virginia, United States |
Area | 11 acres (4.5 ha) |
Built | 1899 |
Architect | John H. Coxhead |
Architectural style | Richardsonian Romanesque |
NRHP reference No. | 82004590 [1] |
VLR No. | 127-0354 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | July 26, 1982 |
Designated VLR | June 16, 1981[2] |
Background
The university was founded in 1865 to give the newly emancipated freedmen an opportunity for education of the mind in an ethical, religious environment. A historically black university, Virginia Union University embraces the uniqueness and contributions of the African Diaspora, celebrating the value of cultural and intellectual diversity. However, enrollment is open to all students without regard to racial background.
The university provides comprehensive undergraduate liberal arts programs and graduate education for Christian ministries. To this end, a guiding principle of the university's educational program is a strong focus upon moral values and ethics, and students are encouraged to engage in activities that promote self-actualization.
History
The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school in 1865 shortly after Union troops took control of Richmond, Virginia, at the end of the American Civil War. Approximately 4 million former African American slaves, or freedmen, were to become citizens. Many had been deprived of formal education and prevented from becoming literate by Southern state laws. Southern states were in economic upheaval after the war.
Members of the ABHMS proposed a National Theological Institute to educate freedmen wishing to enter the Baptist ministry.[3] Soon the proposed mission was expanded to offer courses and programs at college, high school, and preparatory levels, to both men and women. This effort was the beginning of Virginia Union University.
Separate branches of the National Theological Institute were set up in Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, with classes beginning in 1867. In Washington, the school became known as Wayland Seminary, named in commemoration of Dr. Francis Wayland, former president of Brown University and a leader in the anti-slavery struggle. The first and only president was Dr. George Mellen Prentiss King, who administered Wayland for thirty years (1867–1897). Famous students there included Dr. Booker T. Washington and Dr. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr.[3]
In Richmond, the efforts were more difficult. Beginning in 1867, Colver Institute, a VUU predecessor school, was housed in a building long known as Lumpkin's Jail, a former "slave jail" owned by Mary Ann Lumpkin, the African-American widow of the deceased white owner. In 1899, the Richmond Theological Institute (formerly Colver Institute) joined with Wayland Seminary of Washington to form Virginia Union University at Richmond.
In 1932, the women's college Hartshorn Memorial College,[4][5] established in Richmond in 1883, became a part of Virginia Union University. Storer College, a historically black Baptist college in West Virginia (founded in 1867), merged its endowment with Virginia Union in 1964.
Name | Term |
---|---|
Malcolm MacVicar | 1899–1904 |
Dr. George Rice Hovey | 1904–1918 |
William John Clark | 1919–1941 |
Dr. John Malcus Ellison* | 1941–1955 |
Dr. Samuel Dewitt Proctor | 1955–1960 |
Dr. Thomas Howard Henderson | 1960–1970 |
Dr. Allix Bledsoe James | 1970–1979 |
Dr. David Thomas Shannon | 1979–1985 |
Dr. S. Dallas Simmons | 1985–1999 |
Dr. Bernard Wayne Franklin | 1999–2003 |
Dr. Belinda C. Anderson | 2003–2008 |
Dr. Claude G. Perkins | 2009–2016 |
Dr. Joseph F. Johnson | 2016-2017(Acting) |
Dr. Hakim Lucas | 2017−present |
*first VUU alumnus and African-American to serve as President of the University |
Governance
The current president is Hakim Lucas, who was appointed in August 2017. Lucas is in litigation involving his former employment at Bethune-Cookman University surrounding the financing and construction of a dorm.[6]
Academics
The university is divided into four main schools:[7]
- Evelyn Reid Syphax School of Education and Interdisciplinary Studies
- School of Arts and Sciences
- Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology
- Sydney Lewis School of Business
Theology Program
Virginia Union University's Theological training program is called "The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University". The school of theology has produced preachers such as Dean John W. Kinney, Dr. Miles Jones, Dr. A.B. James, Dr. James Henry Harris. The school is a member of the Washington Theological Consortium.[8]
Student activities
Fraternities and sororities
Nine of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations are currently at Virginia Union University. These organizations are:
Organization | Symbol | Chapter | Chapter symbol |
---|---|---|---|
Alpha Kappa Alpha | ΑΚΑ | Alpha Eta | AH |
Alpha Phi Alpha | ΑΦΑ | Gamma | Γ |
Delta Sigma Theta | ΔΣΘ | Beta Epsilon | BE |
Kappa Alpha Psi | ΚΑΨ | Alpha Gamma | ΑΓ |
Omega Psi Phi | ΩΨΦ | Zeta | Z |
Phi Beta Sigma | ΦΒΣ | Lambda | Λ |
Sigma Gamma Rho | ΣΓΡ | Tau | T |
Zeta Phi Beta | ΖΦΒ | Nu | N |
Iota Phi Theta | ΙΦΘ | Theta Omicron | ΘΟ |
Athletics
Virginia Union competes in the NCAA Division II in the Eastern Division of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The school has varsity teams in men's basketball, football, cross country, golf, tennis and track and field, and in women's basketball, bowling, cross country, tennis and track and field, softball and volleyball.[9]
Virginia Union plays basketball and volleyball in the Barco-Stevens Hall, built as the Belgian Building for the 1939 New York World's Fair. The building, which has stone reliefs depicting the Belgian Congo, was one of thirteen facilities designated as "unique" by NCAA News in 2005. The building was awarded to the university in 1941 and moved to its present location in 1943. The basketball team began using the facility in early 1947.[10]
Notable alumni
Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
---|---|---|---|
James Atkins | 2002 | Former NFL player | |
Mamye BaCote | 1961 | Virginia House of Delegates (2004-present) | |
Homer S. Brown | judge, civil rights leader, and state representative in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | ||
Bessye J. Bearden | 1900s | Journalist and social activist; mother of artist Romare Bearden | |
Leslie Garland Bolling | 1924 | Early 20th century wood carver | |
Simeon Booker | 1941 | award-winning journalist and the first African-American reporter for The Washington Post | |
Michael Brim | 1988 | former National Football League player | |
Roslyn M. Brock | 1987 | Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) | |
Henry Allen Bullock | 1928 | Historian, winner of the Bancroft Prize | |
Tamarat Makonnen | 1994 | Film director, producer and writer | |
Emmett C. Burns, Jr. | Maryland House of Delegates (1995–2006) | ||
Terry Davis | Former NBA player | [11] | |
Robert Prentiss Daniel | 1924 | President of Shaw and Virginia State universities for more than 30 years in total | [12] |
Will Downing | attended | R&B Singer | |
Continental Floyd | 2007 | Songwriter, Hip Hop recording artist, and Record producer (did not graduate) | |
AJ English | former Professional Basketball Player | [11] | |
Walter Fauntroy | 1955 | Civil rights leader, minister, former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, from Washington, D.C.'s At-large district and was a candidate for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination | |
Dr. Anderson J. Franklin | Professor of Psychology at the School of Education at Boston College | [13] | |
Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. | 1948 | first African-American to reach the rank of admiral in the United States Navy | |
Abram Lincoln Harris | 1922 | Economist; chair, Economics Dept. Howard University (1936–1945); professor, University of Chicago | |
Pete Hunter | 2002 | former National Football League player | |
Cornelius Johnson | Former NFL player | ||
Eugene Kinckle Jones | 1906 | Member of the Black Cabinet under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a founder of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. | |
Dwight Clinton Jones | 1967 | Mayor of Richmond, Virginia (2009–2016) | |
Howard S. Jones (inventor) | 1943 | Inventor, microwave systems hardware; 31 U.S. Patents | |
Charles Spurgeon Johnson | 1916 | first black president of Fisk University | |
Lyman T. Johnson | 1930 | integrated the University of Kentucky | |
Leontine T. Kelly | 1960 | a bishop of the United Methodist Church | |
Henry L. Marsh | 1956 | first African-American mayor of Richmond, Virginia and member of the Virginia Senate from the 16th district | |
Benjamin Mays | 1916-1917, transferred to Bates College | President of Morehouse College, mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr. | |
Bai T. Moore | Liberian author and poet | ||
Delores McQuinn | 1976 | Virginia House of Delegates (2009-present) | |
Charles Oakley | Professional basketball Player | [11] | |
Chandler Owen | 1913 | Writer, editor and early member of the Socialist Party of America. | |
Wendell H. Phillips | member, Maryland House of Delegates (1979–1987) | ||
Samuel DeWitt Proctor | 1942 | President of VUU and president of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he made close acquaintance with then student body president Jesse Jackson | |
Dean John W. Kinney | Dean, Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University | ||
Randall Robinson | Attorney; founder of TransAfrica | ||
James R. Roebuck, Jr. | 1966 | member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 188 | |
Spottswood William Robinson III | 1937 | Prominent civil rights attorney, dean of Howard University Law School, first African American to be appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
Frank S. Royal | 1961 | chairman of VUU's board; director of public companies; former president of the National Medical Association | [14] |
Herbert Scott | 1974 | National Football League player, 2-time All-Pro, 3-time Pro Bowl; Dallas Cowboys | [15] |
Wyatt T Walker | Activist, civil rights motivator, musician, Theologian who gave letter to Dr. Martin Luther King from Coretta; close confidant and preacher | ||
Ben Wallace | 1996 | Professional Basketball Player, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, NBA Champions; Detroit Pistons | [11] |
Douglas Wilder | 1951 | first African-American governor of Virginia (1990–1994) and Mayor of Richmond (2005–2009) |
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- "Virginia Union University (1865– )". Online Encyclopedia of Significant People and Places in African American History. Blackpast.org. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
- "A Guide to the Hartshorn Memorial College Reunion Collection 1976–1980". L. Douglas Wilder Library Archives. February 7, 1980. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- "Virginia Archives Month October 2007: Images in Celebration". Library of Virginia Archives. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- "Virginia Union president accused in lawsuit of accepting improper payments at past job". Richmond Times Dispatch. January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-09-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Member Institutions". Washington Theological Consortium. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
- "Men's Sports / Women's Sports". Virginia Union University Athletics website. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- "Facilities: Barco-Stevens Hall". Virginia Union University Athletics website. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- "NBA/ABA Players who attended Virginia Union University". DataBase Sports. Archived from the original on 2006-09-20. Retrieved 2006-06-17.
- Guthrie, R.V. (1998). Production of Black Psychologists in America: 'Even the Rat Was White' (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. pp. 155–212.
- "Anderson J Franklin Boston College". Boston College, Lynch School of Education. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- "Meharry board chair to retire after 30 years". Nashville Post. January 10, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
- Ellis, Josh (May 30, 2012). "The Ultimate 53: Herb Scott Can't Be Forgotten". Dallas Cowboys.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012.
External links
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