Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) 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 ...
,
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
,
historically black
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. ...
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Clark Atlanta is the first
Historically Black College or University
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. ...
(HBCU) in the Southern United States. Founded on September 19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it consolidated with Clark College (established 1869) to form Clark Atlanta University in 1988. It is
classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
History
Atlanta University was founded on September 19, 1865, as the first HBCU in the Southern United States. Atlanta University was the nation's first graduate institution to award degrees to African Americans in the Nation and the first to award bachelor's degrees to African Americans in the South; Clark College (1869) was the nation's first four-year liberal arts college to serve African-American students. The two consolidated in 1988 to form Clark Atlanta University.
Atlanta University
In the city of Atlanta, while the Civil War was well underway, two literate African American ex-slaves, James Tate and Grandison B. Daniels, in 1862 established the first school in Atlanta for African American children. It was located on the corner of Courtland and Jenkins Streets in an old church building of Friendship Baptist Church, the original home of First Baptist Church. Tate and Daniels, along with 25 other former slaves, founded Friendship Baptist Church, the first black Baptist autonomous congregation. They began holding classes in an old church building built in 1848. The building was badly damaged during the Siege of Atlanta in 1864. The school would later become Atlanta University in September 1865.
When white missionary Reverend
Frederick Ayer
Frederick Ayer (December 8, 1822 – March 14, 1918) was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon Dr. James Cook Ayer.
Early life
Ayer was born on December 8, 1822 in Ledyard, Connecticut and was the son of ...
, along with his wife, arrived in Atlanta in November 1865 under the auspices of the American Missionary Association, the AMA church purchased a boxcar for $310 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and sent it to Friendship by the Ninth Street Baptist Church of Cincinnati, Ohio. The modest space of the boxcar served two purposes: a new teaching space for Atlanta University and a meeting space for the Friendship Church congregation. Tate and Daniels readily transferred their responsibilities to Ayer, who was better prepared to lead the educational effort, in 1865.
Atlanta University was founded on September 19, 1865 by James Tate and Grandison Daniels. Two years later,
Edmund Asa Ware
Edmund Asa Ware (December 22, 1837 – September 25, 1885) was an American educator and the first president of Atlanta University, serving from 1869 to 1885.
Biography
Ware, son of Asa B. and Catharine (Slocum) Ware, was born December 22, 18 ...
of the
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...
was appointed the first president. Atlanta University was chartered in 1867 with the assistance from
Oliver Otis Howard
Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men agains ...
of the
Freedmen's Bureau
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...
. He also appointed
William J. White as educational agent of the Freedmen's Bureau on January 12, 1867. White was the half-brother of founder James Tate and was the co-founder of the Augusta Institute in 1867, which would become
Morehouse College
, mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made")
, type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college
, academic_affiliations ...
. He served as trustee of Atlanta University in 1869.
Atlanta University—now Clark Atlanta University—is the first HBCU in the Southern United States, and the nation's oldest graduate institution serving a predominantly African-American student body. It was chartered on October 17, 1867. It offered its first instruction at the postsecondary level in 1869. Its first graduating class was in 1873 (normal school for future teachers including women), and it awarded its first six bachelor's degrees in June 1876.
Atlanta University was the first to accept women, and the first HBCU to have a women's dormitory, North Hall, built in 1869. One woman earned a bachelor's degree from Atlanta University between 1876 and 1895. Seven women received bachelor's degrees from Atlanta University between 1895 and 1900. Atlanta University awarded bachelor's degrees 53 years (1876-1929) before exclusively offering graduate degrees.
A 1912 catalog shows that Atlanta University had three divisions—the college and the normal school, each with a preparatory division. Enrollment that year was 403-40 college students, 62 normal students, 115 high school students in the college prep program and 183 high school students in the normal program. At that time half of the Atlanta University alumni were employed in teaching. There were a group of small Black colleges in Atlanta - Atlanta, Morehouse, Spelman, Clark, Morris Brown and Gammon - each guarding its independence but each dependent on Northern philanthropy. By the end of World War I, the Northern philanthropists were demanding mergers to improve educational quality. 1929 saw the creation of the Atlanta University Affiliation, in which Atlanta University took on a new role as the graduate school, with Morehouse and Spelman as undergraduate colleges. Before World War II, the Affiliation came to include other Black colleges in Atlanta. By 1988, Atlanta University merged with Clark College, becoming Clark Atlanta University on July 1, 1988.
North Hall - now Gaines Hall (
Morris Brown College
Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...
)
Atlanta University began on West Mitchell, about a mile from downtown Atlanta. Built in 1869 by architect
William H. Parkins
William Henry Parkins (June 1, 1836 – January 29, 1894) was an American architect best known for his work in Atlanta during the late 1800s.
Born in New York in 1836, Parkins moved to South Carolina in the Antebellum era and was a Union sy ...
, North Hall, now Gaines Hall, marked the first female dormitory on the campus of a co-ed school in the United States. Gaines Hall stood as Atlanta University's initial original building. A year later, South Hall opened for boys. Wings were added to each in 1871 and 1880. In 1882, Stone Hall opened as the main building, containing the chapel, lecture halls, recitation rooms, laboratories and administrative offices. By 1905 four more permanent buildings had been added, including a Carnegie Library. North Hall is the middle building, flanked by South Hall (left) and North Hall. South Hall was later demolished by Morris Brown College. A fire in mid-August 2015 threatened to raze the building completely. In October 2017, a court ruling returned the property to Clark Atlanta University.
Stanley Pritchett, Morris Brown's former president, shows a photo of Atlanta University students taken on what is now Morris Brown's campus.
![Atlanta University (Stone Hall)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Atlanta_University_%28Stone_Hall%29.jpg)
Stone Hall - now
Fountain Hall
Fountain Hall, formerly Fairchild Hall and Stone Hall, is a historic academic building on the grounds of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. Built in 1882, it is the oldest surviving building originally associated with Atlanta University - ...
(Morris Brown College)
Erected in 1882 on the crest of Diamond Hill on the Morris Brown College campus, Fountain Hall is one of the earlier structures for the original site of Atlanta University. Historically, the hall is significant to the city, state, and nation for its role in providing higher education to Blacks in this country. It was for this reason that Fountain Hall was made a National Historic Landmark in 1975. Architecturally, this building is important as a work of
G. L. Norrman. This Atlanta architect was active during the late nineteenth and very early twentieth centuries, but few of his works have survived. The three-story, red brick structure is also an excellent example of the High Victorian style, its clock tower a rare sight in Atlanta. Over its 138-year history, Fountain Hall has served as the location for administrative offices, as well as a number of other university activities, contributing greatly to the cultural fabric of the city through the education of its citizens.
From its construction in 1882 until 1929, Fountain Hall primarily functioned as the administration building for Atlanta University, though it contained a chapel, library, recitation rooms, and laboratories during various times in its history. It served in a similar capacity for Morris Brown College for many years. Currently, the structure contains offices, a chapel, art studios, and a gallery. Fountain Hall has been a gathering place and focus of activity in the education process of many of the mostly Black Americans attending the university and college since its construction. Because of the building's location, Fountain Hall can be seen from some distance and has long served as an impressive and identifying landmark for the historic Atlanta University Center.
In the early 1930s, Morris Brown College was in financial trouble and was forced to give up its property at Houston and Boulevard. Since its affiliation with Spelman and Morehouse, Atlanta University was no longer using several of its original buildings. In 1932, Bishop W. A. Fountain, former college president and then chairman of the Board of Trustees, and his son, W. A. Fountain, Jr., President of Morris Brown, negotiated for the college to become part of the university system and lease some of the vacant buildings on the old campus. After this, Stone Hall became known as Fountain Hall, named for Bishop William A. Fountain. In the 1929, the college deeded the buildings, establishing a permanent home for Morris Brown College.
The Atlanta University campus was moved to its present site, and the modern organization of the
Atlanta University Center
The Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC Consortium) is the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of African-American higher education institutions in the United States. The center consists of four historically black colleges and universi ...
emerged, with Clark College,
Morris Brown College
Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...
, and the
Interdenominational Theological Center
The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest f ...
joining the affiliation later. The story of the Atlanta University over the next twenty years after 1930 includes many significant developments. Graduate Schools of Library Science, Education, and Business Administration were established in 1941, 1944, and 1946, respectively. The Atlanta School of Social Work, long associated with the university, gave up its charter in 1947 to become an integral part of the university. In 1957, the controlling boards of the six institutions (Atlanta University; Clark, Morehouse, Morris Brown and Spelman Colleges; and Gammon Theological Seminary) ratified new articles of affiliation. The new contract created the Atlanta University Center. The influence of Atlanta University has been extended through professional journals and organizations, including ''
Phylon
''Phylon'' (subtitle: ''the Clark Atlanta University Review of Race and Culture'') is a semi-annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering culture in the United States from an African-American perspective. It was established in 1940 by W. E. B. D ...
'', and through the work of Dr.
W. E. B. Du Bois, a member of the center.
The significance of Atlanta University Center rests in the quality of its leaders, faculty, and graduates. Edmund Asa Ware was Atlanta University's spiritual and intellectual father. His dedication to academic excellence and rejection of racial inferiority influenced other black colleges and American education in general. John Hope, former Morehouse president and Atlanta University's first black president, is noted in every history of American education during the first half of this century. Atlanta University's most famous faculty member (1897-1910) was W. E. B. DuBois, who began the Atlanta Studies on Negro Sociology and later became the director of publications for the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
.
The influential
Atlanta Sociological Laboratory was founded at Atlanta University in 1895.
Clark College
Clark College was founded in 1869 by the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
, which later became the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
as the nation's first four-year liberal arts college to serve the primarily African-American student population. Originally named Clark University, the school was chartered and incorporated in 1877. It first offered instruction at the postsecondary level in 1879, and awarded its first degree (baccalaureate) in 1880. It became Clark College in 1940. It was named for Bishop
Davis Wasgatt Clark, who was the first President of the Freedman's Aid Society and became Bishop in 1864. A sparsely furnished room in Clark Chapel, a Methodist Episcopal church in Atlanta's Summerhill section, housed the first Clark College class. In 1871, the school relocated to a new site on the newly purchased Whitehall and McDaniel Street property. In 1877, the School was chartered as Clark University.
An early benefactor, Bishop
Gilbert Haven
Gilbert Haven (September 19, 1821 – January 3, 1880) was a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1872. He was consecrated a bishop on May 24, 1872 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. He was an early benefactor of Clar ...
, visualized Clark as the "university" of all the Methodist schools founded for the education of
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
. After the school changed locations several times, Bishop Haven, who succeeded Bishop Clark, was instrumental in acquiring in South Atlanta, where in 1880 the school conferred its first degree. In 1883, Clark established a theology department named for Dr. Elijah H. Gammon. In 1888 the Gammon School of Theology became an independent theological seminary, and is currently part of the Interdenominational Theological Center. Clark College merged with Atlanta University on July 1, 1988 to form Clark Atlanta University.
Philanthropy
In 2020,
MacKenzie Scott
MacKenzie Scott ('' née'' Tuttle, formerly Bezos; April 7, 1970) is an American novelist and philanthropist. As of September 2022, she has a net worth of US$33.4 billion, owing to a 4% stake in Amazon, the company founded by her ex-husband J ...
donated $15 million to Clark Atlanta University. Her donation is the largest single gift in the history of the institution.
Campus
![WEB DuBois bust at Clark Atlanta University](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/WEB_DuBois_bust_at_Clark_Atlanta_University.jpg)
Clark Atlanta University's main campus houses 37 buildings, including an art museum, on and is southwest of
downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...
.
Residential facilities
*Pfeiffer Hall
*Holmes Hall
*Merner Hall
*Beckwith Hall
*Heritage Commons
*CAU Suites East / West
*Residential Apartments – now called "James P. Brawley Hall" when the original James P. Brawley Hall was demolished in 2007
All undergraduate students with under 58 credits hours are required to live on campus.
Academics
Clark Atlanta offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through the following schools:
*School of Arts & Science
*School of Business
*School of Education
*School of Social Work
Clark Atlanta is the most comprehensive institution in the
Atlanta University Center
The Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC Consortium) is the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of African-American higher education institutions in the United States. The center consists of four historically black colleges and universi ...
, offering over 40 degrees at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.
Clark Atlanta is annually ranked on the list of ''
The Washington Monthly
''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alterna ...
'' "Best Colleges and Universities" and consistently ranked a top 25 HBCU by ''
U.S. News & World Report'' (No. 23).
The Isabella T. Jenkins Honors Program is a selective academic program established to provide a close-knit and uniquely stimulating community for high-achieving undergraduates at Clark Atlanta.
Clark Atlanta's
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
graduate program consistently ranks among the 100 best in the nation by ''U.S. News & World Report''.
Clark Atlanta's Center for Functional Nanoscale Measures (CFNM) has produced more black
Ph.D.s in
Nanoscale Science than any HBCU in the nation.
Student life
Student body
Annually between 30 and 40% of students are Georgia residents, while the remaining come from outside Georgia.
Approximately 25% of students are male and 75% are female.
In 2018, 89% of students identified as African-American/Black, 7% identified as other/unknown, and 4% identified as international.
CAU Experience
All new undergraduate students are required to attend "CAU Experience", which is five days of events orchestrated to help them get better acquainted with the legacy, traditions, culture, and community of Clark Atlanta University. The preeminent scheduled event is the formal induction ceremony where new undergraduate students are officially inducted as CAU Panthers. CAU Experience is mostly led by enthusiastic and trained student leaders known as "OGs", Orientation Guides.
Athletics
Clark Atlanta University, known athletically as the Panthers, competes within the
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black co ...
(SIAC) of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA),
Division II. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football and track & field; women's sports include basketball, cross country, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
Marching band
The university's marching band is known as the
Mighty Marching Panther Band
Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a Private university, private, United Methodist Church, Methodist, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. ...
. "Essence" is the dance-line featured with the marching band. The band was featured in the 2002 movie ''
Drumline
Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...
''.
National fraternities and sororities
All nine of the
National Pan-Hellenic Council
The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent ...
organizations have chapters established at Clark Atlanta University. Other Greek letter organizations registered on campus include
Sigma Alpha Iota
Sigma Alpha Iota () is a women's music fraternity. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its m ...
,
Gamma Sigma Sigma
Gamma Sigma Sigma () is a national service sorority founded on October 12, 1952, at Beekman Tower in New York City. It partners with other organizations such as March of Dimes, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, American Cancer Society, a ...
,
Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricul ...
,
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...
,
Tau Beta Sigma
Tau Beta Sigma Honorary Band Sorority, (, colloquially referred to as TBSigma or TBS) is a co-educational service sorority.
The sorority, headquartered at the historic Stillwater Santa Fe Depot in Stillwater, Oklahoma, numbers over 3,800 active ...
and
Gamma Phi Delta.
National Pan-Hellenic Council
About two percent of undergraduate men and three percent of undergraduate women are active in CAU's
National Pan-Hellenic Council
The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is a collaborative umbrella council composed of historically African American fraternities and sororities also referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The NPHC was formed as a permanent ...
.
Student media
The CAU Panther
''The CAU Panther'' is the student newspaper.
CAU-TV
CAU-TV is a public access channel licensed by
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
to the university.
WSTU
WSTU is the CAU student-run internet radio station.
WCLK
CAU operates
WCLK (91.9 FM), Atlanta's only
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
radio station and one of the longest running in the world.
Notable alumni
This is a list of notable alumni which includes graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Atlanta University, Clark College, Clark University, and/or Clark Atlanta University. It does not include other notable persons who may have attended Clark Atlanta University as cross-registered students (credit as an alumnus is not given to Clark Atlanta University, which has spurred controversy over the school's cross-registration policies).
Notable faculty and administrators
See also
*
Panther Stadium
Panther Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium located on the campus of Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was the secondary venue for field hockey events during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. It is currently home to th ...
*
UNCF
UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...
*
List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia is home to the largest concentration of colleges and universities in the Southern United States. This is a list of colleges and universities in the city of Atlanta and Metro Atlanta.
City of Atlanta Universities and graduate i ...
*
List of historically black colleges of the United States
This list of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) includes institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the black community.
Alabama leads the nati ...
References
Further reading
Atlanta University Publications a series, which began in 1896, of studies on problems affecting black people in the United States, edited by
W. E. B. Du Bois.
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{authority control
Historically black universities and colleges in the United States
Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Private universities and colleges in Georgia (U.S. state)
Universities and colleges in Atlanta
Educational institutions established in 1988
American Missionary Association
Schools supported by the Freedmen's Bureau
Universities and colleges formed by merger in the United States
1988 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)