Benedict College

Benedict College

Former names	Benedict Institute
Motto	A Power for Good in Society
Type	Private, HBCU
Established	1870
Affiliation	American Baptist Churches USA
Endowment	US$2 million^[1]
President	David Swinton
Students	2,447
Location	Columbia, South Carolina, United States
Campus	110-acre (45 ha)
Colors	Purple and gold
Athletics	NCAA Division II
Sports	football basketball baseball softball track and field cross country golf handball soccer tennis volleyball cheerleading
Nickname	Tigers
Affiliations	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Website	www.benedict.edu

Benedict College is a historically black, liberal arts college located in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded into a four-year college.

History

Benedict College Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Location	Roughly bounded by Laurel, Oak, Taylor and Harden Sts. on Benedict College campus, Columbia, South Carolina
Area	3.9 acres (1.6 ha)
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP Reference #	87000809^[2]
Added to NRHP	April 20, 1987

Benedict College was founded in 1870 on a 110-acre (45 ha) plantation in Columbia, South Carolina. Under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, Mrs. Bathsheba A. Benedict of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, provided the amount of $13,000.00 to purchase the land to open Benedict Institute on December 12, 1870.^[3] This new school was established for the recently emancipated people of African descent.

Benedict's first class consisted of ten recently emancipated people of African descent and one teacher, the Reverend Timothy L. Dodge, D.D. He was a college-trained preacher from the North, who became president of the Institute. Benedict Institute set out from humble beginnings in a dilapidated former slave master's mansion to prepare men and women to be "powers for good in society". The dilapidated mansion, built in 1839, served as the first schoolhouse where grammar school subjects, along with Bible and theology, were taught. Eventually other subjects were added to the curriculum to address the original objective of the school: to train teachers and preachers.

On November 2, 1894, the institution was chartered as a liberal arts college by the South Carolina Legislature and the name Benedict Institute was changed to Benedict College.

From 1870 to 1930, Benedict College was led by seven northern white Baptist ministers, all college trained. On April 10, 1930, the Reverend John J. Starks, who earned his bachelor's degree from the college in 1891, became the first African American president of the college. Five African American presidents have succeeded him.

In 1994, with a strategic planning process in place, Benedict College set an enrollment goal of "2000 by the year 2000". The goal was achieved in 1996 with an enrollment of 2,138 students. The fall 2002 enrollment was 3,000. Benedict College is engaged in an ongoing strategic planning process, which will guide the College in the 21st century.

The college is currently implementing a $50 million campus improvement plan, which includes land acquisition and the completion of a comprehensive athletics complex. Campus facilities improvements over the past nine years have included installation of air-conditioning, fire sprinkler systems, and security systems in residence halls; completion of an activities field and community park; renovation of historic Antisdel Chapel, Bacoats and Alumni Halls, and restoration of historic Morgan, Pratt, and Starks Halls, including the Student Leadership Development Center. During this period, new construction has included three residence halls, a parking garage, a campus center/dining hall, an Administration Building, and a Business Development Center. Additionally buildings were acquired to house a fitness center, and the Division of Community Development/Center for Excellence. Three apartment complexes have been purchased for student housing. As a part of the college's community development thrust, more than 50 dilapidated properties in the adjacent community have been renovated.

The Benedict College Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.^[2] It encompasses five buildings constructed between 1895 and 1937: Morgan Hall (1895), Pratt Hall (1902), Duckett Hall (1925), Antisdel Chapel (1932), and Starks Center (1937).^[4]^[5]

Academics

Maintaining a liberal arts tradition, Benedict College now offers bachelor's degree programs in twenty-nine major areas of study to meet the needs of a complex and technological society at home and worldwide as the 21st century sets new parameters for peoples across the universe.

Benedict offers 29 degrees from 12 departments.^[6]^[7]

Benedict College is ranked as one of the top producers of African American Physics majors in the United States.^[8]

In addition to offering traditional education, the college also offers continuing education for those "non traditional students".

Accreditation

Benedict College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate degrees.

The Teacher Education Program is fully approved by the South Carolina Department of Education and the Program in Social Work is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The Environmental Health Science Program is fully accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC).

Student activities

Greek letter organizations

The university currently has chapters for all nine of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations:

Organization	Symbol	Chapter	Chapter Symbol
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority	ΑΚΑ	Psi	Ψ
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity	ΑΦΑ	Gamma Pi	ΓΠ
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority	ΔΣΘ	Gamma Upsilon	ΓY
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity	ΙΦΘ	Theta Kappa	ΘΚ
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity	ΚΑΨ	Gamma Mu	ΓM
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity	ΦΒΣ	Beta Mu	BM
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority	ΣΓΡ	Beta Epsilon	BE
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority	ΖΦΒ	Kappa Beta	KB
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity	ΩΨΦ	Epsilon Epsilon	EE

Athletics

Official athletics logo.

Benedict College, known athletically as the Tigers, competes as a member of the NCAA Division II's Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The sports the school sponsors are: football, men and women's basketball, baseball, softball, track and field, cross country, golf, handball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, cheerleading, and marching band. The college has built the Charlie W. Johnson Stadium for its football games on-campus, which opened in 2006. Basketball games are played at HRC Arena. The college's cheer is "Break an arm, break a leg, Benedict!" The Benedict's Tigers Tennis Team won the SIAC Conference in 2015.

Notable alumni

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Modjeska Monteith Simkins	1921	leader of African American public health reform, social reform and the civil rights movement in South Carolina	^[9]
Harold A. Stevens	1930	lawyer and former judge who served on the New York Court of General Sessions and New York Court of Appeals	^[10]
Jack B. Johnson		former County Executive for Prince George's County, Maryland
LeRoy T. Walker		former U.S. Olympic Committee Chairman
Howie Bell		Comedian
Waliyy Dixon		Professional streetball player
Kris Bruton		Basketball player who currently plays with the Harlem Globetrotters
Bennie Lewis	2009	Professional basketball player
James Maxie Ponder		First African American physician in St. Petersburg, Florida	^[11]

References

↑ As of 2007. Mindy Lucas. "Benedict's Heavy Hitter". Free Times (Columbia, SC). Retrieved January 17, 2012.
1 2 Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
↑ Betsey, Charles L. (2008). "Grading for effort: the success equals effort policy at Benedict College". Historically black colleges and universities. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers. pp. 149‒164. ISBN 9781412812191. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
↑ J. Tracy Power (February 1987). "Benedict College Historic District" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
↑ "Benedict College Historic District, Richland County (Columbia)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 2014-01-07. and accompanying map
↑ "Degree Programs and Majors".
↑ "Academics". Benedict College.
↑ http://www.eastchance.com/uni.asp?id=1200
↑ "Modjeska Simkins - Notable Black South Carolinans". scafricanamerican.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
↑ Navarro, Mireya (November 11, 1990). "Judge Harold Stevens First Black on Court of Appeals". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
↑ Arsenault, Kathy (28 January 2016). "The Ernest Ayer Ponder Collection" (PDF). University of South Florida St. Petersburg: Digital Archive. University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

External links

Coordinates: 34°00′47″N 81°01′13″W / 34.012947°N 81.020345°W / 34.012947; -81.020345

Colleges and universities in South Carolina

Public institutions	The Citadel Clemson Coastal Carolina College of Charleston Francis Marion Lander South Carolina State USC Aiken USC Beaufort USC Columbia USC Lancaster USC Salkehatchie USC Sumter USC Union USC Upstate Winthrop

Private institutions	Allen Anderson Benedict Bob Jones Charleston Southern Claflin Columbia Columbia International Coker Converse Erskine Furman Limestone Morris Newberry North Greenville Presbyterian Sherman Southern Wesleyan Spartanburg Methodist Voorhees Wofford

Technical Colleges	Aiken TC Central Carolina TC Denmark TC Florence-Darlington TC Greenville TC Horry-Georgetown TC Midlands TC Northeastern TC Orangeburg-Calhoun TC Piedmont TC Spartanburg CC TC of the Lowcountry Tri-County TC Trident TC Williamsburg TC York TC

Seminaries, graduate, and professional institutions	Charleston School of Law Erskine Theological Seminary Geneva Reformed Seminary Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary Medical University of South Carolina USC School of Law

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

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 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 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 University Hampton Howard Huston–Tillotson Interdenominational Theological Center Jarvis Christian Johnson C. Smith Knoxville Lane LeMoyne–Owen Livingstone Meharry Miles Morehouse Morehouse School of Medicine Morris Brown Morris Oakwood Paine Paul Quinn Philander Smith Rust 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 Lewis College of Business Mississippi Industrial College Mount Hermon Female Seminary Saint Paul's Storer Straight Western

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

East Division	Albany State Golden Rams Benedict Tigers Claflin Panthers Clark Atlanta Panthers Fort Valley State Wildcats Morehouse Maroon Tigers Paine Lions

West Division	Central State Marauders & Lady Marauders Kentucky State Thorobreds & Thorobrettes Lane Dragons LeMoyne–Owen Magicians Miles Golden Bears Spring Hill Badgers Stillman Tigers Tuskegee Golden Tigers

U.S. National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina

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

Lists by county	Abbeville Aiken Allendale Anderson Bamberg Barnwell Beaufort Berkeley Calhoun Charleston Cherokee Chester Chesterfield Clarendon Colleton Darlington Dillon Dorchester Edgefield Fairfield Florence Georgetown Greenville Greenwood Hampton Horry Jasper Kershaw Lancaster Laurens Lee Lexington Marion Marlboro McCormick Newberry Oconee Orangeburg Pickens Richland Saluda Spartanburg Sumter Union Williamsburg York

Lists by city	Charleston Columbia Greenville North Charleston Rock Hill

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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