Virginia Union University

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Virginia Union University

Established	1865
Type	Private, HBCU
Religious affiliation	American Baptist Churches USA & National Baptist Convention
Endowment	$29 million
President	Dr. Claude G. Perkins
Students	1,700
Location	Richmond, Virginia, United States 37°33′45.8″N 77°27′3″W / 37.562722°N 77.45083°W / 37.562722; -77.45083Coordinates: 37°33′45.8″N 77°27′3″W / 37.562722°N 77.45083°W / 37.562722; -77.45083
Campus	Urban, 84 acres (33.99 ha)
Colors	Maroon and Steel
Athletics	NCAA Division II
Nickname	Panthers
Affiliations	Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Website	www.vuu.edu

Virginia Union University
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Landmarks Register
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
Governing body	Private
NRHP Reference #	82004590 ^[1]
VLR #	127-0354
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	July 26, 1982
Designated VLR	June 16, 1981^[2]

Virginia Union University (VUU) is a historically black university located in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It took its present name in 1899 upon the merger of two older schools, Richmond Theological Institute and Wayland Seminary, each founded after the end of American Civil War by the American Baptist Home Mission Society. VUU's 84-acre (34 ha) campus is located at 1500 North Lombardy Street in Richmond's North Side.

History

The University was founded in 1865 to give the newly emancipated freedmen an opportunity for education of the mind in an ethical, religious environment. An historically black university, Virginia Union University embraces the uniqueness and contributions of the African Diaspora, celebrating the value of cultural and intellectual diversity. However, enrollment is open to all students without regard to racial background.

The University provides comprehensive undergraduate liberal arts programs and graduate education for Christian ministries. To this end, a guiding principle of the University's educational program is a strong focus upon moral values and ethics, and students are encouraged to engage in activities that promote self-actualization.

History

University presidents
Name	Term
Malcolm MacVicar	1899–1904
Dr. George Rice Hovey	1904–1918
William John Clark	1919–1941
Dr. John Malcus Ellison*	1941–1955
Dr. Samuel Dewitt Proctor	1955–1960
Dr. Thomas Howard Henderson	1960–1970
Dr. Allix Bledsoe James	1970–1979
Dr. David Thomas Shannon	1979–1985
Dr. S. Dallas Simmons	1985–1999
Dr. Bernard Wayne Franklin	1999–2003
Dr. Belinda C. Anderson	2003–2008
Dr. Claude G. Perkins	2009–present
*first VUU alumnus and African-American to serve as President of the University

The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school in 1865 shortly after Union troops took control of Richmond, Virginia, at the end of the American Civil War. Approximately 4 million former African American slaves, or freedmen, were to become citizens. Many had been deprived of formal education and prevented from becoming literate by Southern state laws. Southern states were in economicl upheaval after the war.

Members of the ABHMS proposed a National Theological Institute to educate freedmen wishing to enter the Baptist ministry.^[3] Soon the proposed mission was expanded to offer courses and programs at college, high school, and preparatory levels, to both men and women. This effort was the beginning of Virginia Union University.

Separate branches of the National Theological Institute were set up in Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia, with classes beginning in 1867. In Washington, the school became known as Wayland Seminary, named in commemoration of Dr. Francis Wayland, former president of Brown University and a leader in the anti-slavery struggle. The first and only president was Dr. George Mellen Prentiss King, who administered Wayland for thirty years (1867–1897). Famous students there included Dr. Booker T. Washington and Dr. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. ^[3]

In Richmond, the efforts were more difficult. Beginning in 1867, Colver Institute, a VUU predecessor school, was housed in a building long known as Lumpkin's Jail, a former "slave jail" owned by Mary Ann Lumpkin, the African-American widow of the deceased white owner. In 1899, the Richmond Theological Institute (formerly Colver Institute) joined with Wayland Seminary of Washington to form Virginia Union University at Richmond.

In 1932, the women's college Hartshorn Memorial College,^[4]^[5] established in Richmond in 1883, became a part of Virginia Union University. Storer College, an historically black Baptist college in West Virginia (founded in 1867), merged its endowment with Virginia Union in 1964.

Academics

School of Theology

Virginia Union University's Theological training program is called "The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University". The school of theology has produced preachers such as Dean John W. Kinney, Dr. Miles Jones, Dr. A.B. James, Dr. James Henry Harris. The School is a member of the Washington Theological Consortium.^[6]

Student activities

Fraternities and sororities

Eight of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations currently have chapters at Virginia Union University. These organizations are:

Organization	Symbol	Chapter	Chapter symbol
Alpha Kappa Alpha	ΑΚΑ	Alpha Eta	AH
Alpha Phi Alpha	ΑΦΑ	Gamma	Γ
Delta Sigma Theta	ΔΣΘ	Beta Epsilon	BE
Kappa Alpha Psi	ΚΑΨ	Alpha Gamma	AΓ
Omega Psi Phi	ΩΨΦ	Zeta	Z
Phi Beta Sigma	ΦΒΣ	Lambda	Λ
Sigma Gamma Rho	ΣΓΡ	Tau	T
Zeta Phi Beta	ΖΦΒ	Nu	N

Athletics

Virginia Union competes in the NCAA Division II in the Eastern Division of the Central 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.^[7]

Virginia Union plays basketball and volleyball in the Barco-Stevens Hall, built as the Belgian Building for the 1939 New York World's Fair. The building, which has stone reliefs depicting the Belgian Congo, was one of thirteen facilities designated as "unique" by NCAA 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.^[8]

Men's basketball

Under the leadership of head coach Dave Robbins since 1978, the Panthers basketball program has been to the Division II "Final Four" seven times (1980, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2006) and have won three NCAA Division II national championship titles (1980, 1992, 2005). The team was the 2006 National runner-up with a record of 30-4. The team has captured the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference championship 20 times.^{[citation needed]}

The school plays in an annual exhibition game with the Division I cross-town rival Virginia Commonwealth University. Coach Robbins' program has produced eight NBA players, including Detroit Pistons star center Ben Wallace, and former New York Knicks power forward Charles Oakley.^[9]

Women's basketball

The women's basketball team won the NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championship in 1983.^[10]

Notable alumni

Charles S. Johnson

Spottswood William Robinson III

Douglas Wilder

Ben Wallace

Name	Class year	Notability	References
James Atkins	2002	Former NFL player
Mamye BaCote	1961	Virginia House of Delegates (2004-present)
Bessye J. Bearden	1900s	Journalist and Social Activist; mother of artist Romare Bearden
Leslie Garland Bolling	1924	Early 20th century wood carver
Simeon Booker	1941	award-winning Journalist and the first African-American Reporter for the Washington Post
Michael Brim	1988	former National Football League player
Roslyn M. Brock	1987	Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Henry Allen Bullock	1928	Historian, winner of the Bancroft Prize
Emmett C. Burns, Jr.		Maryland House of Delegates (1995-2006)
Terry Davis		Former NBA player	^[9]
Robert Prentiss Daniel	1924	President of Shaw and Virginia State universities for more than 30 years in total	^[11]
Will Downing	attended	R&B Singer
AJ English		former Professional Basketball Player	^[9]
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
Dr. Anderson J. Franklin		Professor of Psychology at the School of Education at Boston College	^[12]
Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr.	1948	first African-American to reach the rank of Admiral in the United States Navy
Abram Lincoln Harris	1922	Economist; Chair, Economics Dept. Howard University (1936-1945); Professor University of Chicago
Pete Hunter	2002	former National Football League player
Eugene Kinckle Jones	1906	Member of the Black Cabinet under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a founder of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Dwight Clinton Jones	1967	Mayor of Richmond, Virginia (2009-present)
Howard S. Jones (inventor)	1943	Inventor, microwave systems hardware; 31 U.S. Patents
Charles Spurgeon Johnson	1916	first black President of Fisk University
Lyman T. Johnson	1930	integrated the University of Kentucky
Leontine T. Kelly	1960	a Bishop of the United Methodist Church
Henry L. Marsh	1956	first African-American Mayor of Richmond, Virginia and Member of the Virginia Senate from the 16th district
Bai T. Moore		Liberian author and poet
Delores McQuinn	1976	Virginia House of Delegates (2009-present)
Charles Oakley		Professional Basketball Player	^[9]
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 of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he made close acquaintance with then student body president Jesse Jackson
Dean John W. Kinney		Dean, Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University
Randall Robinson		Attorney; Founder of TransAfrica
James R. Roebuck, Jr.	1966	member of Pennsylvania 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
Herbert Scott	1974	National Football League player, 2 time All-Pro, 3 time Pro Bowl; Dallas Cowboys	^[13]
Wyatt T Walker		Activist, civil rights motivator, musician, Theologian who gave letter to Dr. Martin Luther King from Coretta; close confidant and preacher
Ben Wallace	1996	Professional Basketball Player, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, NBA Champions; Detroit Pistons	^[9]
Douglas Wilder	1951	first African-American Governor of Virginia (1990-1994) and Mayor of Richmond (2005-2009)
Donald F. Turner		Professor at Harvard Law School

References

↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13.
↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
↑ 3.0 3.1 "Virginia Union University (1865– )". Online Encyclopedia of Significant People and Places in African American History. Blackpast.org. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
↑ "A Guide to the Hartshorn Memorial College Reunion Collection 1976-1980". L. Douglas Wilder Library Archives. February 7, 1980. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
↑ "Virginia Archives Month October 2007: Images in Celebration". Library of Virginia Archives. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
↑ "Member Institutions". Washington Theological Consortium. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
↑ "Men's Sports / Women's Sports". Virginia Union University Athletics website. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
↑ "Facilities: Barco-Stevens Hall". Virginia Union University Athletics website. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 "NBA/ABA Players who attended Virginia Union University". DataBase Sports.
↑ "DII Women's Basketball Championship History". Turner Sports Network. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
↑ Guthrie, R.V. (1998). Production of Black Psychologists in America: 'Even the Rat Was White' (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. pp. 155–212.
↑ "Anderson J Franklin Boston College". Boston College, Lynch School of Education. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
↑ Ellis, Josh (May 30, 2012). "The Ultimate 53: Herb Scott Can't Be Forgotten". Dallas Cowboys.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012.

External links

v t e Colleges and universities in Virginia

Private	Appalachian College of Pharmacy Appalachian School of Law Art Institute of Virginia Beach Art Institute of Washington Atlantic University Averett University Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond Bluefield College Bridgewater College Christendom College Cordoba University DeVry University Eastern Mennonite University ECPI University Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Emory and Henry College Ferrum College George Washington University Virginia Campus Gibbs College Hampden–Sydney College Hampton University Hartland College Hollins University Jefferson College of Health Sciences John Leland Center for Theological Studies Joint Forces Staff College Liberty University Lynchburg College Marine Corps University Mary Baldwin College Marymount University Patrick Henry College Potomac College Randolph College Randolph–Macon College Regent University Roanoke College Saint Paul's College Shenandoah University Southern Virginia University Stratford University Sweet Briar College Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education University of Management and Technology University of Northern Virginia University of Richmond Virginia Intermont College Virginia International University Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Union University Virginia University of Lynchburg Virginia Wesleyan College Washington and Lee University Westwood College

Public	Christopher Newport University College of William & Mary Eastern Virginia Medical School George Mason University James Madison University Longwood University Norfolk State University Old Dominion University Radford University Richard Bland College University of Mary Washington University of Virginia University of Virginia's College at Wise Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry Virginia Community College System Virginia Military Institute Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia State University Virginia–Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

Defunct	Blackstone College for Girls Elizabeth College Marion College Sullins College

Complete list

v t e Colleges and universities affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA

Alderson Broaddus University Bacone College Benedict College Cobb Divinity School Eastern University Florida Memorial University Franklin College Judson University Kalamazoo College Keuka College Linfield College Ottawa University University of Redlands Shaw University University of Sioux Falls Virginia Union University

v t e Historically black colleges and universities

Public institutions	Alabama A&M Alabama State Albany State Alcorn State Arkansas–Pine Bluff Bishop State CC Bluefield State Bowie State Central State Cheyney Coahoma CC Coppin State Delaware State Elizabeth City State Fayetteville State Florida A&M Fort Valley State Gadsden State CC Grambling State Harris–Stowe Hinds CC Jackson State Kentucky State Langston Lincoln, Missouri Lincoln, Pennsylvania Maryland, Eastern Shore Mississippi Valley State Morgan State Norfolk State North Carolina A&T State North Carolina Central Prairie View A&M Savannah State Shelton State CC South Carolina State Southern Southern–New Orleans Southern–Shreveport Tennessee State Texas Southern UDC UPR UVI Virginia State West Virginia State Winston-Salem State

Private institutions	Allen Arkansas Baptist Barber–Scotia Benedict Bennett Bethune-Cookman Claflin Clark Atlanta Concordia Alabama Dillard Edward Waters Fisk Florida Memorial Hampton Howard Huston–Tillotson Interdenominational Theological Center Jarvis Christian Johnson C. Smith Knoxville Lane LeMoyne–Owen Lewis College of Business Livingstone Meharry Miles Morehouse Morehouse School of Medicine Morris Brown Morris Oakwood Paine Paul Quinn Philander Smith Rust Saint Paul's Selma Shaw Simmons College (Ky.) Southwestern Christian Spelman Stillman St. Augustine's Talladega Texas College Tougaloo Tuskegee Virginia Union Virginia University Voorhees Wilberforce Wiley Xavier (La.)

Defunct institutions	Bishop Daniel Payne Guadalupe Kittrell Mississippi Industrial College Mount Hermon Female Seminary Storer Straight Western

v t e Washington Theological Consortium

Members	Capital Bible Seminary The Catholic University of America School of Theology and Religious Studies Howard University School of Divinity John Leland Center for Theological Studies Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies Reformed Theological Seminary Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University Virginia Theological Seminary Washington Theological Union Wesley Theological Seminary

Associate Members	St. Paul's College Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation Woodstock Theological Center Washington National Cathedral

Affiliate Members	Cordoba University Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington

v t e Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Members	Bowie State Chowan Elizabeth City State Fayetteville State Johnson C. Smith Lincoln (PA) Livingstone St. Augustine's Shaw Virginia State Virginia Union Winston–Salem State

v t e American women's colleges that became coeducational

Became coeducational	Adelphi University Albertus Magnus College Andrew College Anna Maria College Barber–Scotia College Beaver College Bennington College Carlow University Cazenovia College Chestnut Hill College Chowan College Columbia College Connecticut College Drexel University College of Medicine Elms College Elmira College Emmanuel College Florida State University Georgia College & State University Goucher College Greensboro College Hood College Hunter College Huston–Tillotson University Immaculata University James Madison University Keuka College LaGrange College Lake Erie College Lasell College Lesley College Longwood University MacMurray College Mississippi University for Women Marymount Manhattan College Mercy College (New York) University of Montevallo Moravian College Notre Dame College Ohio Dominican University Queens University of Charlotte Radford University Randolph College Regis College Rivier College Sarah Lawrence College Salve Regina University Seton Hill University Shorter University Silver Lake College Skidmore College Stevenson University Texas Woman's University Trocaire College University of Mary Hardin-Baylor University of Mary Washington University of North Carolina at Greensboro Vassar College Virginia Union University Viterbo University Washington College of Law Webster University Wells College Wheaton College Winthrop University

Coordinate colleges	Douglass (merged with Rutgers University) Evelyn College for Women (with Princeton University; closed) Georgia State College for Women (with Georgia School of Technology to form Georgia College & State University) H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (merged with Tulane University) Margaret Morrison Carnegie College (merged with Carnegie Mellon University) Pembroke (merged with Brown University) Radcliffe College (merged with Harvard University) University of Mary Washington (with University of Virginia)

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Virginia

Lists by county	Accomack Albemarle Alleghany Amelia Amherst Appomattox Arlington Augusta Bath Bedford County Bland Botetourt Brunswick Buchanan Buckingham Campbell Caroline Carroll Charles City Charlotte Chesterfield Clarke Craig Culpeper Cumberland Dickenson Dinwiddie Essex Fairfax County Fauquier Floyd Fluvanna Franklin County Frederick Giles Gloucester Goochland Grayson Greene Greensville Halifax Hanover Henrico Henry Highland Isle Of Wight James City King and Queen King George King William Lancaster Lee Loudoun Louisa Lunenburg Madison Mathews Mecklenburg Middlesex Montgomery Nelson New Kent Northampton Northumberland Nottoway Orange Page Patrick Pittsylvania Powhatan Prince Edward Prince George Prince William Pulaski Rappahannock Richmond County Roanoke County Rockbridge Rockingham Russell Scott Shenandoah Smyth Southampton Spotsylvania Stafford Surry Sussex Tazewell Warren Washington Westmoreland Wise Wythe York

Lists by city	Alexandria Bedford Bristol Buena Vista Charlottesville Chesapeake Colonial Heights Covington Danville Emporia Fairfax Falls Church Franklin Fredericksburg Galax Hampton Harrisonburg Hopewell Lexington Lynchburg Manassas Manassas Park Martinsville Newport News Norfolk Norton Petersburg Poquoson Portsmouth Radford Richmond Roanoke Salem Staunton Suffolk Virginia Beach Waynesboro Williamsburg Winchester

Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks

Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

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