Bethune–Cookman University

Coordinates: 29°12′37″N 81°01′50″W / 29.2102556°N 81.0306086°W / 29.2102556; -81.0306086

Bethune–Cookman University
Motto Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve[1]
Type Private,HBCU
Established 1904
Affiliation United Methodist Church
Endowment $54,186,000
President Edison O. Jackson (retiring)
Students 4,045[2]
Location Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Campus Urban, 90 acres
Colors Maroon and Gold
         
Athletics NCAA Div I FCS
Nickname Wildcats
Affiliations Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Mascot Wil D Cat
Website www.cookman.edu

Bethune–Cookman University (B–CU), formerly Bethune–Cookman College (B–CC), is a private, co-ed, historically black university located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. The primary administration building, White Hall, and the Mary McLeod Bethune Home have been added to the US National Register of Historic Places.

History

Mary McLeod Bethune founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School in 1904.[3] The school underwent several stages of growth and development through the years and in 1923, it merged with the Cookman Institute of Jacksonville, Florida and became a co-ed high school. A year later in 1924, it became affiliated with the Methodist Church. By 1931, the school had become a junior college.

The school became a four-year college in 1941 when the Florida Department of Education approved a 4-year baccalaureate program in Liberal Arts and Teacher Education. The name was changed to Bethune–Cookman College.

On February 14, 2007, the Board of Trustees approved the name Bethune–Cookman University after the institution established its first graduate program.

Presidents

Bethune retired in 1942, at which time James A. Colston became president. In 1946 Bethune resumed the presidency for a year.

Richard V. Moore, Sr. became president in 1947. Under his tenure the college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1970. It joined the United Negro College Fund and other academic and professional organizations. The curriculum expanded, student enrollment increased, and new buildings were constructed for residential housing and classrooms.

Oswald P. Bronson, Sr., a B–CU alumnus, served as the fourth president of the college from 1975 to 2004. During his tenure increased student enrollment led to construction of more student housing, classroom buildings, and the Mary Mcleod Bethune Auditorium. Major fields of study increased from 12 in 1975 to 37 by 2004. In addition, seven continuing education centers were established throughout the state. While maintaining accreditation by SACS, Florida Board of Education, and the United Methodist Church Board of Higher Education, the college added new accreditation in the Nursing and the Teacher Education programs.

In August 2004, Trudie K. Reed was appointed to the presidency. She was the first woman president since Bethune. Campus improvements have included construction of the Center for Civic Engagement, the L. Gale Lemerand School of Nursing, the creation of the Alexis Pugh and Eugene Zimmerman Scholarship houses, and the provision of a university-owned house as an alumni center during her tenure.

Edison O. Jackson was appointed as the university's interim president in May 2012. Jackson was appointed to the presidency in May 2013 and was committed to serve a 6-year term. In July 2017, Jackson announced his resignation, and the university is searching to for an interim replacement.[4]

Academics

Bethune–Cookman University offers 39 bachelor's degrees and six master's degrees through one of the following schools and colleges:[5]

  • Nursing
  • Business & Entrepreneurship
  • Education
  • Graduate Studies
  • Health Sciences
  • Hospitality Management
  • Liberal Arts
  • Online & Professional Studies
  • Performing Arts & Communication
  • Science, Engineering, Mathematics
  • Undergraduate Studies
  • Religion

Library

The Harrison Rhodes Memorial Library was the original library of Bethune–Cookman College which was a tribute to author Harrison Rhodes of the wealthy Rhodes family. Harrison, along with his sister Margaret, championed the then Daytona Normal and Industrial School for Negro Girls. Upon Margaret’s death, the balance of the Rhodes estate, some $560,000, was given to Bethune–Cookman College. The Harrison Rhodes Memorial building still exists as a campus hall after having been replaced by the Carl S. Swisher Library in 1941, which was mainly financed by the wealthy tobacco industrialist and philanthropist Carl S. Swisher.[6] The library contains 140,000 volumes with a two story building complete with group study rooms, conference rooms, a computer center, bibliographic instruction lab as well as the archives/special collections. There are some 21 databases and four special collections: The Mary McLeod Bethune, Florence Roane, Attica Collection, and the Black Collection.

Student activities

Athletics

Bethune–Cookman University is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I FCS. The school sponsors basketball, bowling, baseball, cross country, football, track and field and volleyball. The Wildcats joined the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 1979. The Wildcats have 33 MEAC titles; 13 in baseball, 1 in bowling, 1 in men's cross country, 2 in women's cross country, 7 in football, 2 in women's indoor track and field, 5 in softball and 2 in women's tennis.

B–CU has an intense in-state rivalry with Florida A&M University. Today, they meet annually in the Florida Classic, a regular-season, neutral-site game which takes place in Orlando, FL starting in 1925 Bethune–Cookman's first win came a year later, 12–0 in 1926. B–CU has won the last 6 meetings of the two schools.

In 2000, Mervyl S. Melendez, (B–CU alumnus) was named as the head coach for the Wildcats' baseball program. He is the first B–CU head coach to win a MEAC title in his first season, and under his tutelage, the Wildcats baseball team has won seven conference championships in the last eight years (2000–2004, and 2006–2007). In 2007, the Wildcats finished the regular season with a record of 33–25, with notable wins against both University of Tennessee and Stetson University, as well as ranking No. 1 in the 2007 Black College Baseball poll.

Marching band

The Marching Wildcats (The Pride) of Bethune–Cookman create the "BCU" formation while playing before a packed Citrus Bowl Stadium at the Florida Classic.

The Marching Wildcats are a 300+ member unit that includes five drum majors traditionally known as "The Five Horsemen", instrumentalists, the Sophisticat Flag Corps and the 14 Karat Gold dancers. Known as "The Pride," the band is under the direction of a Bethune–Cookman alumnus and former Marching Wildcat, Donovan V. Wells. The Marching Wildcats is one of the largest collegiate marching bands in the country.

The 14 Karat Gold dancers are featured performers in all engagements of the Marching Wildcats and occasionally perform as a solo act. The 14 Karat Gold dancers can be seen frequently in BET video clips promoting historically black colleges.

"The Pride" consists of student section leaders who are an extension of Donovan Wells, whose purpose is to further teach the many members of their perspective section, and to be an overall student leader to their band peers. One among the many section leaders within "The Pride" is Jeremie Foster, the head section Leader of The Pride's Percussion Section. Outside of leading the Drumline to substantial heights, Foster is known for his highly talented snare drum covers on YouTube. His high recognition from YouTube has caused new member recruitment for The Pride's percussion section to be much higher during his leadership.

Performances

The Marching Wildcats perform pre-game and halftime shows at all home games of the Fighting Wildcats football team. Games played in neutral sites where Bethune–Cookman University is deemed the home team, The Pride also performs a traditional pre-game show.

The Pride's leadership
Donovan Wells Director of College Bands
James Poitier Associate Director and Arranger
Pedro Orey Assistant Director and Percussion Instructor
Ernest Hamilton Auxiliary Instructor
Horatio Walker Announcer

The Pride has been featured in numerous events, including televised performances. In 2015, the band performed in its tenth Honda Battle of the Bands showcase of HBCU bands in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference representative. In December 2005, a small group of The Pride's percussion section filmed a commercial unveiling the new Cadillac DTS. The commercial made its debut in February 2006 and continued air play throughout the rest of the year. Immediately following the band's January 2005 performance at the Honda Battle of the Bands, the event's producers nominated The Pride to be featured in the Super Bowl special episode of the Emmy-winning The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "The Pride" also made an appearance in the 2002 film Drumline.

Controversies

In May 2017, Bethune–Cookman University faced criticism when it invited Betsy DeVos to speak at the commencement.[7][8][9] Students and public outcry created a petition on change.org titled "Stop Betsy DeVos from delivering the commencement address at Bethune-Cookman University". Many have been questioning the school's decision on social media and beyond, accusing Betsy DeVos of undermining HBCUs. The incident led to security measures, including alerts on the school's website on allowed bags.[10] The university homepage states, "Commencement Bag Policy: All bags will be searched prior to entry into the Ocean Center...".[11][12] During her address, a majority of the students booed DeVos, with about half of them standing up and turning their backs to her.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Student Handbook" (PDF). Bethune–Cookman University. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 3, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  3. ↑ Collier-Thomas, Bettye (Summer 1982). "The Impact of Black Women in Education: An Historical Perspective". The Journal of Negro Education. Howard University. 51 (3): 179. JSTOR 2294687.
  4. ↑ "B-CU Board of Trustees to meet Wednesday to start search for interim president". July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  5. ↑ http://www.cookman.edu/academics/schools/index.html
  6. ↑ Guthrie, Ana (2012). "The History of Florida's Four FBCU (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) Libraries". Florida Libraries. 55 (2): 41.
  7. ↑ Gibbons, Lauren. "Bethune-Cookman students, alumni still pushing to stop Betsy DeVos speech". MLive.com. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  8. ↑ Parker, Najja (3 May 2017). "Why #BlackTwitter is upset about Betsy DeVos as Bethune-Cookman University’s graduation speaker". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Parker, Najja (3 May 2017). "Students protest Betsy Devos as Bethune-Cookman University commencement speaker". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "Alerts: Bag Policy". Bethune–Cookman University. May 10, 2017. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Bethune-Cookman University". May 10, 2017. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Petition - Dr. Jackson: StopDeVosAtBethuneCookmanUniversity - Change". May 10, 2017. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  13. ↑ Susan Svrluga (10 May 2017). "Students boo Betsy DeVos as commencement speaker at historically black university". The Washington Post.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.