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Daniel Payne College, also known as the Payne Institute, Payne University and Greater Payne University, was a
Daniel Payne College, also known as the Payne Institute, Payne University and Greater Payne University, was 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 ...
in Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
from 1889 to 1979. It was associated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
(AME Church). The college was named in honor of Daniel Payne, the sixth bishop of the AME Church and the first black president of a college in the United States.
History
The college was founded inSelma
Selma may refer to:
Places
* Selma, Algeria
*Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada
*Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons
United States:
*Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches
*Selma, Arkansas
*Selma, Cal ...
in 1889. Its campus was located at 1525 Franklin Street and included the Bishop Gaines Hall as the primary building, two additional classroom buildings and Coppin Hall which served as a dormitory
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
. The college stayed at that location through 1922, when it relocated to its Woodlawn location within the city of Birmingham.
The college was located at 6415 Washington Boulevard. By 1974, the college had to be relocated because of airport expansion and the building of interstate highway
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
s in the area. The street on which the college was located no longer exists; however, a remnant of University Avenue that once led to the campus connects to the Messer Airport Highway.
The college moved to a new campus at the southeast corner of Cherry Avenue and Daniel Payne Drive on the far northern edge of Birmingham, where new buildings were constructed in 1974. On April 4, 1977 a destructive tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
tore through the campus, severely damaging buildings. The damage, along with mounting financial problems, forced the school to file for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
in 1978 and close its doors in 1979. At the time of its closure, the college had 120 students enrolled on the campus.
Later a group of students sued the former president, claiming that he had mismanaged college funds. A court ruling established the precedent that students have a vested interest in the operation of the college which they attend.
Physical legacy
After the college closed, the city of Birmingham changed the name of Sayreton Road to Daniel Payne Drive in honor of the bishop and educator. The old campus still exists, although the dormitories have been abandoned. Other buildings were adapted for use as a public health clinic, and as the headquarters for the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Alabama. In 2009, the AME Church offices were relocated to downtown Birmingham. In 2010 the AME Church announced plans to redevelop the campus as a retirement home and multi-use project. The former campus was severely damaged by the April 2011 tornado outbreak in Birmingham.References