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Benedict College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Benedict College |
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| Motto | A Power for Good in Society |
| Established | 1870 |
| Type | Private,Baptist Church |
| President | Dr. David H. Swinton |
| Faculty | 110 acre |
| Students | 2,500 |
| Location | Columbia, South Carolina, USA |
| Colors | Purple and Gold |
| Nickname | BC Tigers |
| Mascot | Tiger |
| Website | www.benedict.edu |
Benedict College is a historically African-American college located in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teacher's college. It has since expanded into a four-year college.
BENEDICT COLLEGE was founded in 1870 on an 80-acre 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. 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 dilapadated former slave master's mansion to prepare men and women to be "powers for good in society." The dilapadated 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.
Maintaining a liberal arts tradition, Benedict College now offers bachelor degree programs in twenty-nine major areas of study to meet the needs of a complex and technological society at home and world-wide as the twenty-first century sets new parameters for peoples across the universe.
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 3,005. Benedict College is engaged in an on-going strategic planning process, which will guide the College in the twenty-first 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.
Across the years, more than 12,000 graduates of Benedict College have succeeded in all areas of human endeavor.
Benedict College is a place where "Learning to Be the Best: A Power for Good in the Twenty-First Century" characterizes its commitment to quality and continuous improvement in its role as one of the nation's premier historically Black Colleges.
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Benedict College, is a fully accredited institution, is a Historically Black College located in Columbia, SC which is adjacent to Allen University, offers 29 degrees [1] from 12 departments [2]. In addition to offering traditonal 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 (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097: Telephone number 404-679-4501) to award baccalaureate degrees.
The College's Teacher Education Program is fully approved by the South Carolina Department of Education.
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).
Documents describing accreditation may be reviewed upon request in the President's Office or the Office of Academic Affairs...
Benedict College has been subject to a series of problems which have nearly resulted in its losing its accreditation. Additionally, its financial credit rating was lowered several times in 2006. The college instituted a grading policy in 2003 called Success Equals Effort designed to retain students by giving some weight (40%) for effort alone. When several professors objected, two of them were fired, resulting in a rare censure of Benedict College by the American Association of University Professors. A federal audit in 2005 revealed financial irregularities to the tune of $100 million, mostly in the funding of its pensions, and, in addition, the college was fined more than $600,000 due to problems with its student loan programs. The college is also subject to criticism because an entering freshman only has a 9% chance of earning a degree in four years, and only a 25% chance of graduating in six years. Should the college lose its accreditation, its students would be unable to obtain federal grants and loans.
The Benedict College athletics department offers 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 come under critisism for building a new stadium in the midst of its financial crisis.
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| Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |
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| Albany State • Benedict • Clark Atlanta • Fort Valley State • Kentucky State • Lane • LeMoyne–Owen† • Miles • Morehouse • Paine† • Stillman • Tuskegee † non-football member |
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This article on a southern U.S. institution of higher education is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Categories: Articles with sections needing expansion | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Universities and colleges in South Carolina | Universities and colleges affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA | Historically black universities and colleges in the United States | Columbia, South Carolina | Educational institutions established in 1870 | Southern United States university stubs