Livingstone College

Livingstone College is a private, historically black Christian college in Salisbury, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Livingstone College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, and Bachelor of Social Work degrees.

Livingstone College
Livingstone College Seal
Former names
Zion Wesley Institute
MottoA Call To Commitment. Taking Livingstone College to the next level
TypePrivate, HBCU
Established1879
AffiliationAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
PresidentDr. Jimmy R. Jenkins Sr.
Vice-presidentWilliam Jose Vanegas
RectorBrandon Duncan
Academic staff
80
Students1,200
Location
Salisbury
,
North Carolina
,

United States
CampusSmall town 272 acres (1.10 km2)
ColorsColumbia blue and Black
   
AthleticsNCAA Division II
NicknameBlue Bears
AffiliationsCentral Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Sportsbasketball
bowling
cross-country
football
softball
volleyball
tennis
track and field
MascotBlue Bear
Websitewww.livingstone.edu
Livingstone College Historic District
Livingstone College, September 2012
LocationW. Monroe St., Salisbury, North Carolina
Coordinates35°40′14″N 80°28′59″W
Area23 acres (9.3 ha)
Built1882 (1882)
Architectural styleVictorian Eclectic
NRHP reference No.82003509[1]
Added to NRHPMay 27, 1982

History

Livingstone College along with Hood Theological Seminary began as Zion Wesley Institute in Concord, North Carolina in 1879. After fundraising by Dr. Joseph C. Price and Bishop J. W. Hood, the school was closed in Concord and re-opened in 1882 a few miles north in Salisbury.[2]

Zion Wesley Institute was founded by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church. The institute changed its name to Livingstone College in 1887 to honor African missionary David Livingstone. That same year, the school granted its first degree.[3] The first group of students to graduate included eight men and two women, the first black women to earn bachelor's degrees in North Carolina.[4]

Originally beginning with 40 acres on a Salisbury farm called Delta Grove,[2] Livingstone College's main campus now consists of 272 acres.[5]

In August 2014, Livingstone submitted plans for converting a former Holiday Inn on Jake Alexander Boulevard into a hospitality school.[6] Livingstone’s School of Hospitality Management & Culinary Arts, a program accredited in 2012, had moved to the new location by 2015.[7][8]

Livingstone College Historic District

The Livingstone College Historic District is a national historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1] The district encompasses 16 contributing buildings, 1 contributing structure, and 1 contributing object on the Livingstone College campus and adjacent residential sections in Salisbury. Notable buildings include the Price house (1884), Harris house (1889), Aggrey house (1912), Ballard Hall (1887), Dodge Hall (1886), Carnegie Library (1908), Goler Hall (1917), Hood Building (1910), and Price Memorial Building (1930-1943).[9]

Student activities

The College offers a number of opportunities for students to participate in religious, social, cultural, recreational, and athletic activities.

Additionally, outstanding artists and lecturers are brought to campus to perform each year. Included in the Division of Student Services are Residence Life, Health Services, Student Activities/Smith Anderson Clark Student Center, Campus Ministry, and the Counseling Center.

Athletics

On the campus is an athletic marker erected in 1956 to commemorate the first African-American intercollegiate football game, in 1892.[9]

Livingstone is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Division II, and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). Its intercollegiate sports programs include basketball, bowling, cross-country, football, softball, volleyball, tennis, golf, and track and field. The nickname for the school's teams is the Blue Bears.

The Livingstone College football team has had a long history since playing in the first Black college football game in 1892 against Johnson C. Smith University (then called Biddle University).[10] The rivalry between the two schools continues to this day as the Commemorative Classic. The Blue Bears also maintain a rivalry with their cross town rival Catawba College Indians. The early October game between the two schools is called the Mayors' Cup.

Notable alumni
Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Charles Sterling Acolatse Ghana jurist, Supreme Court Judge of Ghana
James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey preacher, Pan-African thinker and educator
George Lincoln Blackwell 1888 theologian and author
Solomon Carter Fuller 1893 psychiatrist who made significant contributions to the study of Alzheimer's disease
Ben Coates 1990 former NFL All-Pro tight end for New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens
James Benson Dudley was President of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina from 1896 until his death in 1925
Elizabeth Duncan Koontz 1938 1st Black President of the National Education Association & head of the United States Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor
Vergel L. Lattimore Air National Guard Brigadier General
Rev. John Kinard 1960 Minister, community activist, and first director of the Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, D.C.
Philip A. Payton, Jr. known as the "Father of Harlem"
Wilmont Perry 1997 former NFL running back for the New Orleans Saints
John Terry 1991 former CFL All-Star for the Saskatchewan Roughriders
William J. Trent 1930 Executive Director of the United Negro College Fund https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/29/obituaries/william-trent-83-director-of-negro-college-fund.html
Norman Yokely former baseball pitcher in negro league baseball. He played from 1926 to 1946 with several teams
Ruth Whitehead Whaley First Black woman admitted to the bar in New York and North Carolina.

Notable faculty
Name Department Notability Reference
Rufus Early Clement Professor and dean was the sixth and longest-serving president of historically black Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia.
George James Professor was a South American historian and author, best known for his 1954 book Stolen Legacy, in which he argued that Greek philosophy originated in ancient Egypt.
Natrone Means Football coach Former professional American Football running back who played for the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers of the NFL from 1993 to 2000.
Carolyn R. Payton Professor Director of the Peace Corps during the Carter Administration
Norries Wilson Football coach he served as the first African-American head football coach in the Ivy League, with the Columbia University football team.

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "About Livingstone". Livingstone College. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  3. Franz, Alyssa. "Livingstone College (1879-- )". Online Encyclopedia of Significant People and Places in African American History. BlackPast.org. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  4. Gilmore, Glenda Elizabeth (1996). Gender and Jim Crow: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0807845967.
  5. Campbell, Sarah (February 14, 2011). "Livingstone College has history of producing leaders". The Salisbury Post. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  6. "City approves new Holiday Inn, Livingstone buying old hotel". The Salisbury Post. August 20, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  7. Groh, Jeanie (January 3, 2015). The Salisbury Post approves new Holiday Inn, Livingstone buying old hotel https://www.salisburypost.com/2015/01/03/10-to-watch-vivian-ray/title=City approves new Holiday Inn, Livingstone buying old hotel Check |url= value (help). Retrieved January 31, 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. Willis, Laurie D. (October 8, 2015). "Livingstone hosts fundraiser for Heritage Hall renovation". The Salisbury Post. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  9. Dave Brown (June 1980). "Livingstone College Historic District" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  10. Greenlee, Craig T. (June 17, 2007). "Small schools - Where Football Is An Activity, Not a Business". Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
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