Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

. Founded in 1884 as the Minister's Institute, ABC was initially funded by the Colored Baptists of the State of Arkansas. It is the only historically black Baptist school west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. The Main Building on its campus, built in 1893, is one of the oldest surviving academic buildings in the state, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976.

Accreditation

Arkansas Baptist College was accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

in 1987. In February 2014 the Commission placed the college on notice that it was at risk for being out of compliance with the commission's criteria for accreditation. In August 2015 the commission gave the college a "Show-Cause" order to present a case that its accreditation should not be withdrawn. The order was withdrawn in November 2016. The commission placed the college on probation in 2019 for failing to meet the accreditation criterion that requires the institution to have adequate resources.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Arkansas Baptist College include: *

William T. Dixon William T. Dixon (September 8, 1833 – June 3, 1909) was an educator and Baptist minister in Brooklyn, New York. He was a founder of the New England Baptist Association. Dixon was a member of Brooklyn's black elite and was listed by the Brooklyn ...

, preacher *

Harry Kenyon Harry Kenyon (born April 10, 1894) was a Negro leagues pitcher and manager for a few years before the founding of the first Negro National League, and in its first eight seasons. Kenyon attended the Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock, Arka ...

, baseball player *

Michael Dyer Michael Dyer (born October 13, 1990) is an American football running back. He played college football at Auburn and Louisville. College career Auburn As a true freshman in 2010, Dyer rushed for 1,093 yards on 182 carries and five touchdowns, ...

, football player *

Shawn Moore, Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peop ...

, football player * E. Alice Taylor, activist *

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

, musician * James Charles Lewis, III (Lil' JJ), entertainer

Athletics

The Arkansas Baptist athletic teams are called the Buffaloes. The college is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing as an NAIA Independent within the Continental Athletic Conference since the 2021–22 academic year. Prior to joining the NAIA, the Buffaloes were a member of the

Bi-State Conference The Bi-State Conference, also known as Region II, is a junior college athletic conference for many technical and community colleges within the South Central states of Arkansas and Oklahoma, sponsored by the National Junior College Athletic Assoc ...

(Bi-State) within the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJCAA) until after the 2020–21 school year. Arkansas Baptist competes in ten intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, soccer, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, soccer, softball and track & field.

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Authority control 1884 establishments in Arkansas Educational institutions established in 1884 Historic district contributing properties in Arkansas Historically black universities and colleges in the United States NJCAA athletics National Register of Historic Places in Little Rock, Arkansas Private universities and colleges in Arkansas Universities and colleges in Little Rock, Arkansas University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas