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Wilberforce University

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Wilberforce University is a private, coed, liberal arts historically African-American university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, that is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and participates in the United Negro College Fund. Wilberforce University was founded by a Black Bishop, Bishop Daniel Paine.

Wilberforce was the first university owned and operated by African-Americans, and is named for the 18th century English statesman and abolitionist William Wilberforce. The school played a role in the Underground Railroad. The campus is located three miles from Xenia, Ohio, and 21 miles from Dayton, Ohio.

History

Founded in 1856 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Wilberforce closed temporarily in 1862 during the American Civil War and reopened the following year after being sold to the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Growth drove the need to build a new campus in 1967, located one mile away.

In 1974, a tornado destroyed much of the city of Xenia and the old campus, part of the Super Outbreak tornado storm. The old campus contains the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center. Other old campus buildings still in use include the Carnegie Library built in 1909, Shorter Hall built in 1922, and the Charles Leander Hill Gymnasium built in 1958.

Wilberforce is one of two four-year institutions in the United States that require all students to participate in cooperative education to meet graduation requirements. The cooperative program places students in internships that provide practical experience in addition to academic training.

Degrees offered

Bachelor of Arts degree programs

  • Communications
  • Fine Arts
  • Liberal Studies
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Rehabilitation Services
  • Sociology

Bachelor of Science degree programs

  • Accounting
  • Biology
  • Business Economics
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Comprehensive Science
  • Computer Engineering
  • Computer Information Systems
  • Computer Science
  • Economics
  • Engineering Physics
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Finance
  • Health Services Administration
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Liberal Arts
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Mass Media Communications
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Music Education
  • Pre-law
  • Philosophy/Religion
  • Psychology

Master of Science degree program

  • Rehabilitation Counseling

Athletic programs

Wilberforce is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and participates in the American Mideast Conference. The Bulldogs participate in the following intercollegiate sports: basketball (men's and women's), and volleyball (women's). Students also participate in the following intramural sports: basketball, softball, volleyball, flag football, and tennis.

NASA SEMAA project

In October 2006, Wilberforce held the grand opening and dedication for the NASA Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) and the associated Aerospace Education Laboratory (AEL). It was attended by Dr. Bernice G. Alston, deputy assistant administrator of NASA’s office of Education, and the Honorable David L. Hobson, state representative from Ohio’s 7th congressional district.

NASA’s program is designed to provide training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to underprivileged students to support NASA’s future needs. There are 17 NASA SEMAA project sites through the United States. Through this partnership, Wilberforce will offer training sessions for students in grades K-12 during the academic year and during the summer. The AEL is computerized classroom that provided technology to students in grades 7-12 that supports the SEMAA training sessions.

Notable alumni

Wilberforce alumni have organized chapters in cities throughout the country and continue to participate in activities on campus. Notable alumni include:

  • Victoria Gray Adams, pioneering civil rights activist
  • Regina M. Anderson, playwright, librarian, and member of the Harlem Renaissance
  • Myron (Tiny) Bradshaw, American jazz and rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, pianist, and drummer
  • Hallie Quinn Brown, an educator, writer and activist
  • Floyd H. Flake, U.S. Congressman, Wilberforce-President
  • James H. McGee, a city commissioner and first African-American mayor of Dayton, Ohio
  • George Russell, an American jazz composer and theorist
  • William Grant Still, the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony of his own performed by a leading orchestra, and the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company
  • Ossian Sweet, an African American doctor notable for his self-defense of his newly-purchased home against a white mob attempting to force him out in Detroit in 1925

NPHC Organizations

References

See also

External links



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Last updated on Wednesday February 27, 2008 at 14:55:33 PST (GMT -0800)
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