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By Dominic Green
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The 20 Most Beautiful Historically Black College and University Campuses
Xavier University
School: Xavier University
Location: New Orleans, LA
Founded: 1915
The campus of Xavier University of Lousiana is sometimes called the Emerald City because of all the green-roofed buildings on campus. These include the Library/Resource Center, the Norman C. Francis science building, the University Center, the Living Center and a few others. Xavier is the only HBCU Catholic school in the nation.
University of Virgin Islands
School: University of Virgin Islands
Location: St. Croix & St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Founded: 1962
Even though the school was founded in the '60s, UVI didn't join the list of HBCU's until 1986. Both their campuses boast excellent sports and fitness centers that balance indoor and outdoor activities. They annually host the Paradise Jam, a tournament that brings in top Division I basketball programs to compete. Oh, and you can practically snorkel from dorm room to classroom.
Virgina State University
School: Virgina State University
Location: Petersburg, VA
Founded: 1882
This campus sits atop a rolling landscape overlooking the Appomattox River in the Chesterfield County village of Ettrick. VSU students live and learn on a 236 acre main campus, with more than 50 buildings, including 16 dormitories and 17 classroom buildings, and a 416 acre agricultural research facility. Without VSU, we'd never know how much we wanted EFX. Skoop and Dre met as students there, joining forces as Das EFX, spawning all sorts of slang ending in "-iggedy".
Grambling State University
School: Grambling State University
Location: Grambling, LA
Founded: 1901
Grambling State University opened on November 1, 1901 as the
Colored Industrial and Agricultural School. It was organized in 1896 by a group
of African-American farmers who wanted to organize and operate a school for
African-Americans in their region of the state. The school is named after P.G. Grambling, a sawmill owner who had
donated the parcel of land where the school was constructed. In 1974 it
became Grambling State University.
Florida A&M University
School: Florida A&M University
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Founded: 1887
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University was
founded as the State Normal College for Colored Students, and on October 3,
1887, it began classes with 15 students and 2 instructors. Prominently
located on the highest hill in Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee, Florida
A&M University remains the only historically black university in the eleven
member State University System of Florida.
Fisk University
School: Fisk University
Location: Nashville, TN
Founded: 1866
In 1930, Fisk was the first African-American
institution to gain accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools and accreditation for specialized programs quickly followed. In 1952, they were the first predominantly black college to earn a chapter of the
academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa. The 40 acre campus is also a historic
district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nikki Giovanni, the acclaimed poet and activist, is just one of many notable alumni.
Morgan State University
School: Morgan State University
Location: Baltimore, MD
Founded: 1867
In 1915 the late Andrew Carnegie gave the school a
conditional grant of $50,000 for the central academic building. The terms of
the grant included the purchase of a new site for the college, payment of all
outstanding obligations, and the construction of a building to be named after
him. The College met the conditions and moved to its present site in northeast
Baltimore in 1917. Carnegie Hall, the oldest original building on the present
MSU campus, was erected two years later.
Alabama A&M
School: Alabama A&M
Location: Normal, AL
Founded: 1875
The University was organized in 1875 as the result of a bill
passed in the State Legislature in 1873 and through the continued efforts of
its first principal and president, William Hooper Council, an ex-slave. Industrial
education was introduced around 1878. American Idol runner-up Ruben Studdard and avant-garde jazz musician Sun Ra both attended Alabama A&M; unfortunately Sun Ra passed before the two could collaborate (and potentially knock the music world off its collective axis).
Spelman College
School: Spelman College
Location: Atlanta, GA
Founded:1881
In April 1884, John D. Rockerfeller visited the school and was so impressed that he settled the heavy debt on the property. The name of the school is derived from its previous name, the Spelman Seminary, which was in honor of Laura Spelman, wife of Rockerfeller, who helped to fund the school. Spelman's parents were longtime activists in the anti-slavery movement. Rockerfeller also donated the funds for what is currently the oldest building on campus, Rockerfeller Hall. Spelman is the oldest historically black college for women.
Clark Atlanta University
School: Clark Atlanta University
Location: Atlanta, GA
Founded: 1988
Previously existing as
separate institutions, Clark College and Atlanta University joined together in
1988 for purposes of economy and efficiency, becoming one of the more popular HBCUs. Recently they have enlisted the help of Mack Scogin Merrill Elam
Architects to revamp their Trevor Arnett Building, which is a historic home to
paintings from African-American artists.
Morehouse College
School: Morehouse College
Location: Atlanta, GA
Founded: 1867
Morehouse is located on a 61 acre campus near downtown Atlanta. Their most recent addition is the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center and Music Academic Building. The $20 million, 76,000 square-foot facility is located at the edge of the historic West End district and was dedicated on September 29, 2010. Morehouse provided the inspiration for Spike Lee's School Daze.
Norfolk State University
School: Norfolk State University
Location: Norfolk, VA
Founded: 1935
Norfolk State University is actually located on a fromer 50 acre golf course, which the city sold to the school for exactly one dollar. Since then the school has expanded to 134 acres and currently has 31 buildings on the property. That's turning a little green into a lot.
Hampton University
School: Hampton University
Location: Hampton, VA
Founded: 1868
The campus overlooking the northern edge of the
harbor of Hampton Roads was founded on the grounds of "Little
Scotland," a former plantation in Elizabeth City County not far from
Fortress Monroe and the Grand Contraband Camp, each tangible symbols of freedom
for former slaves shortly after the end of the American Civil War. The legendary Booker T. Washington attended Hampton.
North Carolina Central University
School: North Carolina Central University
Location: Durham, NC
Founded: 1910
NCCU offers a
blend of new and old architecture between their academic and residential
buildings. The
historic Annie Day Shepard Residence Hall (named after the founder’s wife) was
built in 1930 and recently underwent a full renovation. They also boast
an award winning Biomanufacturing Research Institute named BRITE. Coach Herman Boone, Denzel Washington's character in Remember the Titans, attended NCCU.
Dillard University
School: Dillard University
Location: New Orleans, LA
Founded: 1869
The famous New Orleans architect Mr. Moise H. Goldstein is responsible for the Southern Plantation Romanesque style that dominates Dillard's Campus. He served the university from the 1930s to the 1960s and is responsible for the design of majority of the buildings on campus. Katrina damaged a large portion of the campus, but Dillard rallied back.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
School: University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Location: Princess Anne, MD
Founded: 1886
The core of the
campus complex focuses on a large rectangular green, or quadrangle, bordered with
paved walks. The quadrangle is surrounded by major buildings, reflecting
variations of neoclassical and Colonial Revival styles that were favored by
many educational institutions during the early- to mid-20th century.
Delaware State University
School: Delaware State University
Location: Dover, DE
Founded: 1891
DSU takes pride in its heritage as one of the
country’s first land-grant educational institutions, rooted early on in agriculture
and education. The 400 acre campus features more than 30 buildings, including one named for Medgar Evers, and, on the opposite end of the inspiration scale, one named for Bank of America.
North Carolina A&T State University
School: North Carolina A&T State University
Location: Greensboro, NC
Founded: 1891
The main campus is spread out over 200 acres and is just nine blocks from downtown Greensboro where, in 1961, four A&T freshman refused to leave a Woolworth's lunch counter after being refused service, a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement.
Howard University
School: Howard University
Location: Washington, DC
Founded: 1867
The 256 acre campus is located in northwest Washington. Following World War I, many major improvements and changes were made to the schoool, with new buildings built under the direction of architect Albert Cassell. Toni Morrison, Ossie Davis, and Sean Combs are among the Bison's numerous famous alumni.
Bethune-Cookman University
School: Bethune-Cookman University
Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Founded: 1904
Mary McLeod Bethune founded the Bethune
Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in 1904. The school
underwent several stages of growth and development through the years, and in
1923, it merged with the Cookman Institute of Jacksonville, Florida to became co-ed. Their new $4.6 million athletic training center by architect
William Chapin is slated to open sometime this year.