Celebrating HBCUs--- Benedict College established in South Carolina (486 hits)
December 20
On this date in 1870, Benedict College was established in Columbia, S.C, one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America.
Originally Benedict Institute, it was founded under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Mrs. Bathsheba A. Benedict of Pawtucket, R.I., provided financial support, adding to a small bequest from her husband. This purchased an 80-acre plantation near Columbia for the education of recently emancipated people of African descent. Benedict set out from humble beginnings to prepare men and women to be "powers for good in society."
During the first 25 years of its existence, Benedict's educational program tackled the severely limited economic and social conditions of the Blacks in the South. Its original objective was to train teachers and preachers, and its first curriculum was limited to reading, writing, and arithmetic. Later it added an industrial department offering carpentry, shoe making, printing, and painting. On November 2, 1894, it was chartered as a liberal arts college by the South Carolina Legislature and the name "Benedict Institute" was changed to "Benedict College."
The year 1930 signaled the succession of African-American presidents at the college. Through the scope and depth of its varied programs and services, the college maintains a liberal arts tradition while meeting complex societal demands. The college offers bachelor degree programs in 25 major areas of study.
Of the 20 independent colleges in South Carolina, Benedict has the largest undergraduate student body and is the second largest overall with an undergraduate population of over 2,500 students. Benedict College is ranked 2nd in the nation in producing African American physics majors, as reported by the Education and Employment statistic Division of the American Institute of Physics, and it became only the 2nd HBCU in the nation and the 1st in South Carolina to receive national accreditation for its Environmental Health Program (EHAC). These and more rankings attest to its excellence.
Benedict College since 2000 has been engaged in a strategic planning process for 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.
The college is celebrating nearly 140 years (as of 2009) of providing quality education to its students and meritorious service to this community. Over the years, more than 10,000 graduates of this institution have succeeded in all areas of human endeavor. The productive graduates are the most important part of the success story of this premier historically Black College.
Reference: Black American Colleges and Universities: Profiles of Two-Year, Four-Year, & Professional Schools by Levirn Hill, Pub., Gale Group, 1994 ISBN: 0-02-864984-2
