is a four-year
Liberal Arts Women's College in
Greensboro, North Carolina . Founded in
1873 , this
Historically Black institution began as a
Normal School to provide education to newly emancipated slaves. It became a women's college in 1926 and currently serves roughly 600
Undergraduate s.
Bennett has been described as the ''
Vassar of the South'', of historically black higher-education institutions in the United States.
Oprah Winfrey and
Maya Angelou have recently offered public support to Bennett College.
Bennett College was founded by Albion Tourgee an activist in the second half of the 19th century who championed the cause of racial equality. The school held its inaugural classes in the basement of Warnersville Methodist Episcopal Church North (now St. Matthew's United Methodist) in Greensboro. At its inception, Bennett was a
Coeducational school (offering both
High School and
College level courses), and remained so until
1926 . The year after its founding, the school became sponsored by the
Freedman's Aid Society and
Southern Education Society Of The Methodist Episcopal Church . The school remained in temporary quarters for several years, until donations from
New York businessman Lyman Bennett provided sufficient funds to build a permanent campus. Bennett died soon thereafter, and the school was named in his honor.
In
1888 , Bennett Seminary elected its first African-American school president, the Reverend
Charles Grandison . Grandison spearheaded a successful drive to have the school chartered as a four year college in
1889 . Under his direction, and the direction of the president who followed him (
Jordan Chavis ), Bennett College grew from 11 undergraduate students to a total of 251 undergraduates by
1905 . The enrollment leveled out in the
1910s at roughly 300.
In
1926 , Bennett College, which had long had a close working relationship with the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, chose to reorganize as Bennett College for Women. In the wake of
World War I , increased opportunities for women had increased the need for colleges that would prepare young women for greater social and commercial opportunity.
David Dallas Jones was appointed the first president of the women's college -- under his leadership, the high school campus at Bennett was closed to focus the attentions of the staff fully on expanding and enriching the college curriculum. After Jones's death,
Willa B. Player assumed the presidency -- under her guidance, Bennett College became one of the first 15 four-year
African American Colleges to be admitted to the
Southern Association Of Colleges And Schools .
Roughly 600 students, all women and primarily of African-American descent, are enrolled in one of Bennett's 24 degree programs. Bennett is consistently ranked among the top historically black colleges and universities, both for its academic achievements and its relatively reasonable
Tuition rates. Today Bennett is reorganizing and revitalizing its campus and academic infrastructure.
#
Julianne Malveaux -
2007 - Present
#
Johnnetta B. Cole -
2002 -
2007
Bennett has incorporated three new programs that are aimed at increasing students' awareness of the struggles and accomplishments of all women, especially those of African descent; and staying in-step with the ever-changing climate of today's globally integrated society:
Womanist Religious Studies
Global Studies
African Women's Studies
Referred to as Living Learning Centers, Bennett College houses its students in the following six facilities:
- Carrie Barge Hall
- Laura Cone Hall
- Robert E. Jones Hall
- Annie Merner Pfeiffer Hall
- Willa B. Player Hall
- Jessie Reynolds Hall
There are approximately 50 campus organizations including social, service, religious, music organizations; departmental and special interest clubs; honor societies; and the student government association. The four historically black Greek letter sororities- Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, and Sigma Gamma Rho- are also active on campus and govern themselves through the Pan-Hellenic Council.
Among Bennett's more distinguished alumnae include:
