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Stillman 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 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 ...
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
college in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population o ...
. It awards the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in 17 disciplines/majors housed within three academic schools (Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, and Education). The college has an average enrollment of 650 students and is accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...
.


History

Stillman College was founded as Tuscaloosa Institute, when it was authorized by the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
in the United States in 1875, and held its first classes in 1876. It was chartered as a legal corporation by the State of Alabama in 1895. At that time, the name was changed from Tuscaloosa Institute to Stillman Institute. The institute was a concept initiated by the Reverend Dr. Charles Allen Stillman, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa, "for the training of colored men for the ministry". The mandate for the Institution expanded over the years and it acquired its present campus tract of over . A junior and senior high school was organized and the Institute established a junior college program, which was accredited in 1937. In addition, between 1930 and 1946, it operated a hospital and nurse training school. Under the administration of Dr. Samuel Burney Hay (1948–1965), the school sought to expand into a senior liberal arts institution and in 1948 the name was officially changed to Stillman College. The following year, Stillman expanded into a four-year college and graduated its first baccalaureate class in 1951. The college was accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...
in 1953. Under Dr. Hay, seven new buildings were constructed: a gymnasium, a library, an administration-classroom building, two women's residence halls, a prayer chapel, and a student center. When John Rice became the Dean of Students at Stillman College in 1966, he lived on campus with his wife and daughter,
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Un ...
, who later served as the 66th
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
. Dr. Harold N. Stinson (1967–1980) was the first African American to assume the presidency. Under his dynamic leadership, new programs designed to improve educational quality were instituted, and the physical plant was expanded with the addition of two men's residence halls, faculty apartments, a maintenance building, and a mathematics-science center. Snedecor Hall, Batchelor Building, and Birthright Auditorium were renovated. During his presidency, the college graduated its first non-black student, Constance M. Rizzi, in 1978. Under the leadership of the college's fourth president, Dr. Cordell Wynn (1982–1997), the appearance of the campus improved dramatically; Winsborough and John Knox Halls were renovated; and the Marie Lundy Wynn Hall and Johnson/Robinson Student Health Center were erected. The enrollment grew beyond 1,000 students; the endowment increased significantly; and the educational program was broadened to include the Stillman Management Institute and a community-service component. On July 1, 1997, Dr. Ernest McNealey (1997–2013) was named the fifth president. During his tenure, Stillman garnered national attention in the areas of technology, athletics and scholarly pursuits. One of the leaders in wireless computing, the college received the National Innovation in Technology Award by Apple Computers and continues to be on the cusp of technological innovations in higher education. The college's football program and marching band were revitalized and the college experienced its largest enrollment in the history of the institution. In 2004 the college received its first-ever ranking among top-tier schools in U.S. News & World Report. During Dr. McNealey's tenure, four new structures were erected (School of Education building, Wynn Fine Arts Center, Roulhac Residence Hall, and the stadium with accompanying playing fields, buildings, and an NCAA regulation track). The sense of place was further manifested in the construction of the Thomas E. Lyle Band Center and NCAA regulation tennis complex. On June 26, 2014, at a press conference in Birthright Alumni Hall, Stillman Board of Trustees named interim president Dr. Peter E. Millet the sixth president of the school. In August 2014, Stillman was awarded a donation of $2 million by an unknown donor to help with the long term stability of the college. On December 29, 2014, President Dr. Peter E. Millet announced via school email that tuition for the small liberal arts school would be reduced from $22,500 to $17,500 in an effort to boost enrollment and make college more affordable. On January 1, 2015, Stillman became a smoke-free campus in an effort to keep with its theme of promoting a healthier lifestyle. In December 2015, Stillman cut its current sports from 12 to 2. Currently, Stillman has four intercollegiate sports teams, Men's and Women's Basketball, Baseball, and Softball. On December 14, 2016, Stillman College Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Dr. Cynthia Warrick as the new Interim President for Stillman College. She took office on January 3, 2017. On April 24, 2017, Dr. Cynthia Warrick (2017-) was named the seventh president and the first female president of Stillman College. Dr. Warrick is a native of San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Howard University with the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, and completed the Masters of Science in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Doctorate in Environmental Science & Public Policy from George Mason University. With over 20 years of service in higher education through the faculty ranks, administrative and executive positions, Dr. Warrick's focus is on connecting students and the college to opportunities that advance academic excellence, degree completion, admissions into graduate and professional schools and fruitful careers. The school's Tuscaloosa campus 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 ...
in 2021.


Student activities


Performance arts


Band

Stillman College's band program was started in 1955. The "Pride of the South", also known as the "Blue Pride" Marching Tiger Band (BPMT), includes a concert band and jazz band. With an average membership of 120, the "Blue Pride" Marching Tiger Band is a
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 ...
musical show unit that is organized during the fall football season. Membership is open to all qualified students enrolled at the college, regardless of their major field. In February 2010, Stillman College dedicated a brand new facility, the Thomas Lyle Band Center, named in honor of former band director Thomas Lyle, in conjunction with the Wynn Fine Arts Center. In the fall of 2013, the "Blue Pride" Marching Tiger Band participated in the Annual Turkey Day Classic against Alabama State University. The marching band is represented in the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
game Black College Football: BCFX: The Xperience playing selections of Sing a Song and Word Up. The band offers two honor and service organizations: Kappa Kappa Psi, Kappa Omicron Chapter & Tau Beta Sigma, Theta Chi Chapter.


Choir

The Stillman College Concert Choir, under the direction of Jocqueline K. Richardson, is a choral ensemble of students, both music and non-music majors. The choir's repertoire consists of a variety of sacred and secular choral literature from the Renaissance to the contemporary periods in music history. The concert choir performs at college events, local and regional churches and special events throughout the academic year and serves as an ambassador of Stillman College.


Fraternities and sororities

Seven of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations currently have chapters at Stillman College. These organizations are:


National Honor Societies

*
Beta Kappa Chi Beta Kappa Chi () is a scholastic honor society that recognizes academic achievement among students in the fields of natural science and mathematics. The society was founded at Lincoln University in 1923 and was admitted to the Association of Col ...
(Science) * Alpha Kappa Mu (AKM)


Athletics

The Stillman athletic teams are called the Tigers and Lady Tigers. The college is a member of the Division I level 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 in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC; formerly known as Georgia–Alabama–Carolina Conference (GACC) until after the 2003–04 school year) since the 2018–19 academic year. The Tigers and Lady Tigers previously competed as a member of 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 c ...
(SIAC) from 1978–79 to 1998–99, and again from 2002–03 to 2015–16, which is currently a
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
athletic conference; as a member of the
Great South Athletic Conference The Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) was an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions were located nationwide, but was originally based in the southeastern United States. History Th ...
(GSAC) of the
NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...
ranks from 1999–2000 to 2001–02; and as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) from 2016–17 to 2017–18. Stillman currently competes in eight intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, softball and track & field. Stillman formerly sponsored football from the 1999 fall season until the 2015 fall season, when the school eliminated all athletic teams, except for men's and women's basketball, due to increased costs associated with the athletic program. In Fall 2018, the college added men's and women's cross country and track and field. Stillman plans to bring back volleyball in the fall of 2022 and add women's bowling in the fall of 2023.


Accomplishments

Recent Athletic accomplishments include: * Men's Basketball – In 2018 the Men's Basketball Team was the NAIA A.I.I Conference Champs. Losing in the opening round of the National Tournament, the men finished the season with a record o 27–5, losing only one game at home. The Tigers swept the conference awards with the Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and a first Team Honorable mention. 2006 and 2016 SIAC Championship; In the 2009–10 season, 1 year removed from taking over a 1–27 team, head coach Michael Grant led the men's basketball team to the school's first ever appearance in the National Top 25 rankings. * Women's Basketball – In 2018, the Lady Tigers were the NAIA A.I.I. Conference Champ Runner Ups. The Lady Tigers lost in the opening round of the National Tournament and finished with a 19–12 record. * Baseball – In 2018, the Tigers finished their season with a record of 19–22; 2007–08 SIAC Championships; 2007 Division II National Championship * Softball – The 2018 Lady Tigers Softball team finished with a record of 18–18, an impressive record considering the installation of a new coach in December and a 0–8 start to the season.


Residential life

There are four dorms on campus.The three male dorms are Knox, Hay and Wynn. The dorm for female students is Roulhac. It is recommended that freshman students reside on campus. The Grand Apartments is off-campus housing managed by Stillman.


Notable alumni


Notable faculty

* Presbyterian clergyman Andrew Flinn Dickson, the first professor of the Institute for the Training of Colored Ministers in October 1876 * Michael Hill taught British history at Stillman before founding the
League of the South The League of the South (LS) is an American white nationalist, neo-Confederate, white supremacist organization, headquartered in Killen, Alabama, which states that its ultimate goal is "a free and independent Southern republic". The group ...
, a neo-Confederate and
white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
organization.


See also

*
List of historically black colleges and universities 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


External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Authority control Historically black universities and colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 1876 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) African-American history of Alabama Education in Tuscaloosa, Alabama Buildings and structures in Tuscaloosa, Alabama 1876 establishments in Alabama Private universities and colleges in Alabama National Register of Historic Places in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama