 | |
Former names | Colver Institute (1865–1886)[1] Richmond Theological Institute (1886–1899) Wayland Seminary (1865–1899) Hartshorn Memorial College (1883–1932) |
|---|---|
| Motto | The Lord Will Provide |
| Type | Privatehistorically black university |
| Established | 1865; 160 years ago (1865) |
| Endowment | $29 million |
| President | Hakim Lucas |
| Students | 1,700 |
| Location | , Virginia ,United States 37°33′45″N77°27′4″W / 37.56250°N 77.45111°W /37.56250; -77.45111 |
| Campus | Urban, 84 acres (34 ha) |
| Colors | Maroon andSteel |
| Nickname | Panthers |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II – CIAA |
| Website | vuu |
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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[2] |
| VLR No. | 127-0354 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 26, 1982 |
| Designated VLR | June 16, 1981[3] |
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Virginia Union University is aprivatehistorically black university inRichmond, Virginia.
TheAmerican Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school asRichmond Theological Institute in 1865 shortly after Union troops took control ofRichmond, Virginia, at the end of theAmerican Civil War, forAfrican-Americanfreedmen to enter into the ministry.[4] The college had the first academic library at a historically black college or university (HBCU), building the library in 1865 which was the same year the college was established.[5]
Its mission was soon expanded to offer courses and programs at college, high school, and preparatory levels, to both men and women.[6] This effort was the beginning of Virginia Union University. Separate branches of the National Theological Institute were set up inWashington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, with classes beginning in 1867. In Washington, the school became known asWayland Seminary, named in commemoration ofFrancis Wayland, former president ofBrown University and a leader in the anti-slavery struggle. The first and only president there wasGeorge Mellen Prentiss King, who administered Wayland for thirty years (1867–1897). Famous students there includedBooker T. Washington andAdam Clayton Powell, Sr.[6]
Beginning in 1867, Colver Institute was housed in a building long known as Lumpkin's Jail, a former "slave jail" owned byMary Ann Lumpkin, the African-American widow of the deceased white owner. It becameRichmond Theological Institute (formerly Colver) and joined with Wayland Seminary of Washington in 1899 to form Virginia Union University at Richmond.[7]
In 1932, thewomen's collegeHartshorn Memorial College,[8][9] established in Richmond in 1883, became a part of Virginia Union University.Storer College, a historically blackBaptist college inWest Virginia founded in 1867, merged its endowment with Virginia Union in 1964.[10]
| Name | Term |
|---|---|
| Malcolm MacVicar | 1899–1904 |
| George Rice Hovey | 1904–1918 |
| William John Clark | 1919–1941 |
| John Malcus Ellison* | 1941–1955 |
| Samuel Dewitt Proctor | 1955–1960 |
| Thomas Howard Henderson | 1960–1970 |
| Allix Bledsoe James | 1970–1979 |
| David Thomas Shannon | 1979–1985 |
| S. Dallas Simmons | 1985–1999 |
| Bernard Wayne Franklin | 1999–2003 |
| Belinda C. Anderson | 2003–2008 |
| Claude G. Perkins | 2009–2016 |
| Joseph F. Johnson | 2016–2017 (acting) |
| Hakim J. Lucas | 2017–present |
| *first alumnus and African-American to serve as president of the university | |
The university is divided into four main schools:[11]
Virginia Union University's Theological training program is called TheSamuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology.James Henry Harris, the early American civil rights advocate, was a graduate. The school is a member of theWashington Theological Consortium.[12]
There are over 20 student organizations, including several fraternities and sororities.
Virginia Union competes in theNCAA Division II in the Eastern Division of theCentral 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.[13]
In 2018, both Virginia Union University's DII Men & Women's Basketball Teams won the CIAA Championship.[14]Virginia Union plays basketball and volleyball in the Barco-Stevens Hall, built as theBelgian Building for the1939 New York World's Fair. The building, which has stone reliefs depicting theBelgian Congo, was one of thirteen facilities designated as "unique" byNCAA 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.[15]
It is affiliated with theAmerican Baptist Churches USA.[16]
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| Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Anderson | NFL player | ||
| James Atkins | 2002 | Former NFL player | |
| Mamye BaCote | 1961 | Virginia House of Delegates (2004-2016) | |
| Darius Bea | attended two years | Negro leagueoutfielder andpitcher | [17] |
| Bessye J. Bearden | 1900s | Journalist andsocial activist; mother of artistRomare Bearden | |
| Leslie Garland Bolling | 1924 | Early 20th century wood carver | |
| Simeon Booker | 1941 | award-winningjournalist and the first African-Americanreporter forThe Washington Post | |
| Michael Brim | 1988 | formerNational Football League player | |
| Roslyn M. Brock | 1987 | Chairman of theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) | |
| Homer S. Brown | judge, civil rights leader, and state representative in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | ||
| Henry Allen Bullock | 1928 | Historian, winner of theBancroft Prize | |
| Tamarat Makonnen | 1994 | Film director, producer and writer | |
| Emmett C. Burns, Jr. | Maryland House of Delegates (1995–2006) | ||
| Terry Davis | 1989 | Former NBA player | [18] |
| Robert Prentiss Daniel | 1924 | President ofShaw andVirginia State universities for more than 30 years in total | [19] |
| Will Downing | attended | R&B Singer | |
| AJ English | 1990 | former Professional Basketball Player | [18] |
| 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 | |
| Anderson J. Franklin | Professor of Psychology at the School of Education atBoston College | [20] | |
| Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. | 1948 | firstAfrican-American to reach the rank of admiral in theUnited States Navy | |
| Abram Lincoln Harris | 1922 | Economist; chair, Economics Dept.Howard University (1936–1945); professor,University of Chicago | |
| Nat Horne | 1951 | Dancer, choreographer, theatre director and educator | [21] |
| Pete Hunter | 2002 | formerNational Football League player | |
| Cornelius Johnson | 1967 | Former NFL player | |
| Eugene Kinckle Jones | 1906 | Member of theBlack Cabinet under PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt and a founder ofAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity | |
| Dwight Clinton Jones | 1967 | Mayor ofRichmond, Virginia (2009–2016) | |
| Charles Spurgeon Johnson | 1916 | first black president ofFisk University | |
| Lyman T. Johnson | 1930 | integrated theUniversity of Kentucky | |
| Leontine T. Kelly | 1960 | abishop of theUnited Methodist Church | |
| Henry L. Marsh | 1956 | first African-Americanmayor ofRichmond, Virginia and member of the Virginia Senate from the 16th district | |
| Benjamin Mays | 1916-1917, transferred toBates College | President ofMorehouse 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 | [18] | |
| 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 ofNorth Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he made close acquaintance with then student body presidentJesse Jackson | |
| Randall Robinson | Attorney; founder ofTransAfrica | ||
| James R. Roebuck, Jr. | 1966 | member ofPennsylvania 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 | [22] |
| Herbert Scott | 1974 | National Football League player, 2-timeAll-Pro, 3-timePro Bowl;Dallas Cowboys | [23] |
| Charles Sherrod | 1958 | SNCC organizer and co-founder of theAlbany Movement | [24] |
| Clarence L. Townes Jr. | 1948 | businessperson, politician, and civic activist from Richmond, Virginia | [25] |
| Wyatt T Walker | Activist, civil rights motivator, musician, Theologian who gave letter to Martin Luther King from Coretta; close confidant and preacher | ||
| Ben Wallace | 1996 | Professional Basketball Player,NBA Defensive Player of the Year,NBA Champion, Member ofBasketball Hall of Fame;Detroit Pistons | [18] |
| Douglas Wilder | 1951 | first African-Americangovernor of Virginia (1990–1994) and Mayor of Richmond (2005–2009) | |
| N. Scott Phillips | 1983 | member,Maryland House of Delegates |
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