Shorter College 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,

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas River, Arkansas from Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. In 2 ...

. It is the only private historically black junior college in the United States. Shorter College was founded in 1886 as Bethel University by the Twelfth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church. The college is accredited by the

Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) is a U.S. based institutional accreditation organization that focuses on Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries seeking collegiate accreditation in the United Sta ...

and offers associate degrees through its six programs.

History

Shorter College began as a means to increase literacy among Arkansas's African-American population and foster their

civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

by offering them access to education and spiritual direction once the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

had ended. In 1885, under presiding Bishop T. M. D Ward, the A.M.E. Church approved the establishment of a joint commission on church schools during its annual conference in Arkansas. In May 1886, five commissioners from regional state conferences were appointed to found the college as Bethel University, which would fall under the jurisdiction of the Bethel A.M.E. Church in Little Rock. Classes commenced in September 1886 in the basement of the church with 109 students enrolled. The school's first-elected principal and assistant teacher were A.D. Delaney and Mary Jane Murphy, respectively. Initial course offerings included teacher training. In 1888, the school was renamed Bethel Institute. In September 1891, classes recommenced at the school's new location in Arkadelphia, which was purchased with a $3,000 pledge fund. In 1892, it was renamed Shorter University to honor Bishop James Alexander Shorter, who is credited with establishing Arkansas as nationally-recognized southern hub for the A.M.E. Church. The college received a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

two years later. Between 1895 and 1898, the school operated campuses in Arkadelphia and North Little Rock (formerly Argenta). Its North Little Rock campus began in Bethel Church and had transitioned to its own property in the city by 1896. In 1903, the two campuses were merged at the 604 Locust Street location in North Little Rock, and the school was renamed Shorter College. Shorter College was offering courses from grades three through college by 1917, and was North Little Rock's only high school for black students until 1928. For a time, the college operated as a four-year institution until 1955, when it reverted back to its status as a two-year institution due to financial constraints. In 1981, Shorter College attained full accreditation, which was required to establish transfer agreements with four-year institutions in Arkansas. The agreements would allow students to transfer their Shorter College credits to a four-year institution after earning an associate degree at Shorter College. After a period of decline caused by internal political division and debt throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Shorter College lost accreditation and federal funding in 1998. By 2000, after enrollment had significantly decreased and its buildings were shuttered, Shorter College had entered into an agreement with the

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in the state of Arkansas. UAPB is part of the University of ...

that offered accredited courses to Shorter College students. By 2011, after years of fundraising and debt cancellations, Shorter College reopened its facilities and earned accreditation candidacy through the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. In 2013, the college attained full accreditation.

Campus

Shorter College is located at 604 Locust Street in North Little Rock, Arkansas, and covers three and one-half square blocks. The campus houses Sherman-Tyree Hall, the F.C. James Human Resources Center, S. S. Morris Student Center, Henry A. Belin Health-Plex, Alexander-Turner Child Development Center, Health and Wellness Center and A.W. Young Library. Tyree Hall was the first permanent building on campus. Completed in 1903, it was a three-story brick structure for classrooms, offices, a library, and boys’ dormitories. After undergoing a full demolition in 1957, the rebuilt two-story facility was dedicated as Sherman-Tyree Hall in 1961. It currently serves as the main administrative and instructional facility for Shorter College. The F.C. James Human Resources Center took two years to build and was completed in 1979. It was named after Bishop Frederick C. James, a civil rights leader and one of the people credited with achieving initial accreditation for Shorter College. It includes a 148-seat auditorium that was fully-renovated in 2015. A weekly College Assembly/Chapel service has been held in the facility. The S.S. Morris Student Center was fully constructed in 1974 and underwent renovations in 2014. It was designed to be the hub of student activity and houses a banquet hall, kitchen, student lounge and activity spaces and the Division of Student Affairs. The Henry A. Belin Health-Plex is home to the college's gymnasium, which was completed in 1992. The health-plex serves as the venue for

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

classes and sports, career fair and commencement events. A weekly College Assembly/Chapel service has been also been held at the health-plex. The Alexander-Turner Child Development Center offers

child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

services to college students and the greater Shorter College community. Completed in 1995, the facility partnered with Headstart to attain funding for facility renovations. The center contains observation rooms for Child Development students. The Health and Wellness Center offers health screening and health information to the Shorter College community. The building was donated to the school in 2014 and renovated the following year. In 2015, Shorter College purchased property near the Health and Wellness Center and partnered with the Arkansas Minority Health Commission to open the property as a free medical clinic for the greater Shorter College community. The A.W. Young Library is a facility that contains a classroom, student seating and computer area, office space and of bookstacks.

Administration and organization

Shorter College's parent organization is the Twelfth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church. The college is organized under a board of trustees, with the presiding bishop of the Twelfth Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Church as chairman. The majority of the board members, who are

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

members, are elected through the four annual Arkansas A.M.E. Church conferences. The president of Shorter College is an

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

member who reports to the board through the Twelfth Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Church. Shorter College offers six degree programs: Child Development, Christian Leadership, Criminal Justice, General Studies, Entrepreneurial Studies and Computer Science. A typical academic year contains two 15-week terms during the fall (August–December) and spring (January–April). There are two accelerated four-week summer sessions that run from May to June and June to July. An academic year begins on the first day of the fall term and ends on the last day of the second summer term.

Academics and programs

Shorter College has an open admissions policy. The college offers early entry and

dual enrollment In the United States, dual enrollment (DE), also called concurrent enrollment, programs allow students to be enrolled in two separate, academically related institutions. Generally, it refers to high school students taking college or university cours ...

programs to local high school students. Since 2016, Shorter College has participated in the Second Chance Pell program, an initiative that offers

Pell Grant A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled ...

s to students who are incarcerated.

Student life

Student body

As of fall 2020, Shorter College's student body consists of 223 students. There are 89 percent full time and 11 percent part time students.

Organizations

The following student groups operate at Shorter College: Black Male Initiative, Health and Wellness Club, National Association of Black Men United, Phi Beta Lambda and Student Government Association.

Principals/Presidents

''Everyone listed prior to 1893 served as a principal only. * Julian T. Bailey, 1886-1887 * Professor A. D. Delaney, 1887–1890 * Professor John R. Rector, 1890–1890 * Professor S. T. Boyd, 1891–1893 * B. W. Arnett Jr., 1893–1894 * T. H. Jackson, 1895–1897 * F. T. Vinegar, 1897–1898 * Dr. J. A. McGivary Jones, 1898–1900 * T. H. Jackson, 1900–1904 * Dr. P. W. Walls, 1904–1904 * Rev. A. H. Hill, 1904–1912 * Rev. O. L. Moody, 1912–1914 * Dr. William Byrd, 1914–1917 * Rev. J. N. Campbell, 1917–1919 * Rev. S. L. Green, 1919–? * Theophilus D. Alexander * A. O. Wilson, 1958–1960 * Dr. H. Solomon Hill, 1960–1968 * Rev. Lonnie L. Johnson, 1970–1971 * Oley L. Griffin, 1972–1977 * R.J. Hampton, 1977–1980 * Rev. John L. Phillips Sr., 1980–1987 * Dr. H. Benjamin Williams, 1987–1988 * Dr. W. Dean Goldsby, 1988–1989 * Dr. Katherine P. Mitchell, 1989–1997 * Dr. Irma Hunter Brown, 1998–2001 * Dr. Cora D. McHenry, 2002–? * Lillie Alexis * Dr. Katherine P. Mitchell, ?–2012

Notable alumni

* Daisy Bates,

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

activist, newspaper publisher, mentor of the

Little Rock Nine The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering ...

* Dr. Irma Hunter Brown, former president of Shorter College, first African-American female legislator in Arkansas *

James H. Cone James Hal Cone (August 5, 1938 – April 28, 2018) was an American theologian, best known for his advocacy of black theology and black liberation theology. His 1969 book ''Black Theology and Black Power'' provided a new way to comprehensively d ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, founder black liberation theology * Alex Hill,

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 ...

pianist and music arranger * Scipio Africanus Jones, educator, defense attorney for the Elaine Twelve in Arkansas, politician * E. Melvin Porter, civil rights leader, first African-American Senator of Oklahoma * Robert Stanton, dentist and state politician, one of the first two African-Americans elected to the Indiana lower house in the 20th century *

Alphonse Trent Alphonse "Alphonso" Trent (October 24, 1902 – October 14, 1959) was an American jazz pianist and territory band leader. Early life Trent was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas on October 24, 1902. He played piano from childhood and worked in local ban ...

, jazz pianist and

territory band Territory bands were dance bands that crisscrossed specific regions of the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s. Beginning in the 1920s, the bands typically had 8 to 12 musicians. These bands typically played one-nighters, six or seven n ...

leader

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Historically black universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church Private universities and colleges in Arkansas Educational institutions established in 1886 Buildings and structures in Pulaski County, Arkansas Education in Pulaski County, Arkansas Two-year colleges in the United States 1886 establishments in Arkansas