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| Motto | Lumen Veritas et Utilitas |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Knowledge, Truth, and Service |
| Type | Privateunaccreditedhistorically black college |
| Established | 1867; 158 years ago (1867) |
Religious affiliation | Presbyterian Church (USA) |
| President | Chris Rey |
| Students | 90 |
| Location | ,, United States |
| Colors | Royal blue and gray |
Sporting affiliations | USCAA |
| Mascot | Saber-tooth tiger |
| Website | www |
Barber–Scotia College | |
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| Location | 145 Cabarrus Ave. West,Concord, North Carolina |
| Coordinates | 35°24′23″N80°35′9″W / 35.40639°N 80.58583°W /35.40639; -80.58583 |
| Built | 1876 |
| Architect | Ahrens, F. W. |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Second Empire, Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 85000378[1] |
| Added to NRHP | February 28, 1985 |
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Barber–Scotia College is aprivateunaccreditedhistorically black college inConcord, North Carolina. It began as a seminary in 1867 before becoming a college in 1916. It is affiliated with thePresbyterian Church (USA).
Barber–Scotia began as afemale seminary in 1867.[2]Scotia Seminary was founded by the Reverend Luke Dorland[3] and chartered in 1870. A project by thePresbyterian Church to prepare youngAfrican Americansouthern women, who were the daughters of formerslaves, for careers associal workers and teachers, it was the coordinate women's school for Biddle University, nowJohnson C. Smith University.[4]
It was the firsthistorically black female institution of higher education established after theAmerican Civil War. For the first time, it gave black women an alternative to becoming domestic servants or field hands."[5]
Scotia Seminary was modeled after Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (nowMount Holyoke College) and was referred to as "The Mount Holyoke of the South".[6][7][8][9] The seminary offered grammar, science, and domestic arts. In 1908 it had 19 teachers and 291 students. From its founding in 1867 to 1908 it had enrolled 2,900 students, with 604 having graduated from the grammar department and 109 from the normal department.[8] Faith Hall, built in 1891, was the first dormitory at Scotia Seminary. It is listed inNational Register of Historic Places and "is one of only four 19th-century institutional buildings left inCabarrus County." It was closed by the college during the 1970s due to lack of funds for its maintenance.[5] As of 2018, Faith Hall was once again being used as a dormitory.[10]
| Luke Dorland | 1867–1885 |
| D.J. Satterfield | 1885–1908 |
| A.W. Verner | 1908–1922 |
| T.R. Lewis | 1922–1929 |
| Myron J. Croker | 1929–1932 |
| Leland S. Cozart | 1932–1964 |
| Lionel H. Newsom | 1964–1966 |
| Jerome L. Gresham | 1966–1974 |
| Mable Parker McLean | 1974–1988 |
| Tyrone L. Burkette | 1988–1989 |
| Lionel H. Newsom (interim) | 1989–1990 |
| Gus T. Ridgel (interim) | 1990 |
| Joel 0. Nwagbaraocha | 1990–1994 |
| Asa T. Spaulding Jr. | 1994 |
| Mable Parker McLean | 1994–1996 |
| Sammie W. Potts | 1996–2004 |
| Leon Howard (interim) | 2004 |
| Gloria Bromell Tinubu | 2004–2006 |
| Mable Parker McLean (interim) | 2006 |
| Carl Flamer | 2006–2008 |
| David Olah | 2008–2015 |
| Yvonne Tracey (interim)[1] | 2015-2016 |
| David Olah | 2016–2019 |
| Melvin I. Douglass | 2019–2022 |
| Tracey Flemmings (interim) | 2022–2023 |
| Chris V. Rey | 2023–Present |
It was renamed toScotia Women's College in 1916.[12] In 1930, the seminary was merged with another female institution,Barber Memorial College, which was founded in 1896 inAnniston, Alabama by Margaret M. Barber as a memorial to her husband.[13][14] This merger createdBarber–Scotia Junior College for women.[15]
The school granted its first bachelor's degree in 1945, and became a four-yearwomen's college in 1946. In 1954, Barber–Scotia College became acoeducational institution and received accreditation from theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools. Today, the college maintains close ties to thePresbyterian Church.[11]
In February 2004, Sammie Potts resigned the presidency, giving no reason for departure.[16] On June 24, 2004, one week after appointing its new president, Gloria Bromell Tinubu, the college learned that it had lost itsaccreditation due to what theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools said was a failure to comply with SACS Principles and Philosophy of Accreditation (Integrity), as the school "awarded degrees to nearly 30 students in the adult program who SACS determined hadn't fulfilled the proper requirements".[17]
This meant that students became ineligible for federal aid and that many employees would be laid off.[18][17] As over 90% of the students at Barber–Scotia received some sort of federal financial aid, enrollment then dropped from 600 students in 2004 to 91 students in 2005 and on-campus housing was closed down.[19]
During her tenure, PresidentGloria Bromell Tinubu led a strategic planning effort to change the college from a four-year liberal arts program to a college of entrepreneurship and business, and established partnerships with accredited colleges and top-tiered universities.[19] She would later leave the college when the new Board leadership decided to pursue religious studies instead.
Former President and alumna Mable Parker McLean was hired as president on an interim basis.[19][20] In February 2006 a committee of the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to continue the denomination's financial support for Barber–Scotia, noting that its physical facilities were "substantial and well-secured" and that the school was undertaking serious planning for the future.[21]
In May 2006, it was reported that Barber–Scotia would rent space on its campus toSt. Augustine's College to use for an adult-education program: "Under the terms of the deal, St. Augustine's will pay Barber–Scotia for the space for its Gateway degree program starting this fall."[22]
McLean was replaced by President David Olah who accepted the position without payment and the college re-opened in 2006 with a limited number of students.[23] During this time, the "previous attempts to revive the college [which] have centered on an entrepreneurial or business curriculum" were formally abandoned "in favor of focusing more on religious studies". Flamer also worked to eliminate debt and worked with alumni and the community to save the college.[24] Olah left in 2015, to be replaced by Yvonne Tracey,[25] who departed at the end of 2015.
In September 2016, the newly elected Board of Trustees hired David Olah as president to once again lead the college, at which twelve students were enrolled.[26] The school closed for spring semester 2016 academic year to restructure and implement its new strategic plan.[27]
In February 2018, theIndependent Tribune said the college was being sold and a school might be built there. President Olah said that while the college owed millions, it was not for sale. In addition, trustees said that while the college still couldn't offer federal financial aid yet, several programs were still offered which trained students for jobs.[28]
On March 16, 2019, the college's alumni association held a meeting about the college's future. At that time, theIndependent Tribune claimed the college was holding no classes.[29] Melvin Isadore Douglass became the college's president in April 2019, and an official inauguration was planned in January 2020.[30] According to theIndependent Tribune, most of the college's 45 students were taking classes online.[31]
In January 2020 the Barber-Scotia Property Task Force started working on plans for what to do with the campus. After meetings with community leaders, it was determined possible uses for campus buildings as of September 2020 included a school, a museum, and a business center. Because the gym was in good shape with a pool that could be used, an aquatics center was another possibility. Faith Hall, Graves Hall and Leland S. Cozart House were on theNational Register of Historic Places and would likely be preserved, but some of those buildings were in such bad shape no one could go inside.[32]
In February 2021, the city and the college made a formal agreement to work together.[33]
Douglass and Chairwoman Karen M. Soares, with the aid of CongresswomanAlma Adams, were able to get a 21-year, estimated, $12 million loan forgiven. This program was administered by the Department of Education's HBCU Capital Finance Program. The program provided low-cost capital to finance improvements to the infrastructure of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities.[34]
TheAssociation for Biblical Higher Education said the college had inquired about accreditation but as of July 2021 had not started the process, which would take eight to ten years.[35]
A community survey received a strong response, and studies were planned for renovating and reusing the buildings. A partnership withCabarrus County Schools was considered. After lack of cooperation from college leaders, the agreement with the city ended in November 2021.[36]
According to a February 1, 2022 press release, Roberta Pinckney became chair of the board.[37]
An August 2022 article in theIndependent Tribune said, "seven of the 15 buildings are deemed unoccupiable", that six others needed violations to be corrected, and that the college had awarded no degrees in 18 years. The article said that none of the college's leaders lived in the county, and that the college claimed to have 24 students who would be studying entrepreneurship, religion, and renewable energy in September 2022. College leaders announced a partnership with the unaccredited, for-profit Medcerts for health services training online. The Cabarrus County tax assessor was determining whether the college still qualified as a nonprofit; if not, land and buildings worth almost $12 million could be sold.[36]
As of December 2022The Charlotte Observer reported four students were taking classes, all online,[38] and in 2023, the college held a graduation ceremony for four online students.[39] An investigation byWSOC-TV revealed thatCabarrus County was considering ending the college's tax exemption.[38]
In a March 16, 2023 news release, the city announced that a task force formed in 2017 to help the college was disbanding. The task force accused the college of not cooperating.[40]
A July 6, 2023 news release stated that trustees appointed Chris V. Rey, former mayor ofSpring Lake, North Carolina, to succeed Flemmings as president.[41]
On April 30, 2024, Partners for Rural Impact and Elizabeth City State University awarded Barber–Scotia College with a $32,500 grant to spearhead a workforce development program aimed at revitalizing the Sage Library situated on the college campus.[42]
TheIndependent Tribune reported in August 2025 that 90 students were expected on August 22, the first to take classes on campus "for the first time in nearly a decade".[43]
The college offers the following four degree programs: Bachelor of Arts in business, Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, Bachelor of Arts in Sports Management and a Bachelor of Science in Bio-Energy. Each academic discipline has several fields of concentration.
Barber–Scotia College's athletic programs are known as theMighty Sabers.
Barber–Scotia formerly competed in theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily in the now-defunctEastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (EIAC) until the end of the 2004–2005 season, during the time the school lost its accreditation and could no longer field athletics teams.[citation needed]
Barber-Scotia were members of theUnited States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) until 2015.
In 2024, Barber–Scotia announced it had joined the New South Athletic Conference.[44][45]
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