Bishop College
| Bishop College | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1881–1988 |
| Type | HBCU |
| Location | Marshall and Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Mascot | Tiger[citation needed] |
Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, and later moved to Dallas, Texas, that operated from 1881 to 1988.
Contents |
[edit] History
The college was founded by the Baptist Home Mission Society in 1881 as the result of a movement to build a college for African-American Baptists. The movement was started by Nathan Bishop, who had been the superintendent of several major school systems in New England. Baylor University President Rufus C. Burleson secured a pledge of $25,000 from Judge Bishop during a meeting of the National Baptist Education Society meeting in Philadelphia, PA to start the college. A committee of Baptist ministers from East Texas selected a location in Marshall, on land belonging to the Holcomb Plantation, Wylucing.
For its first several decades, Bishop's faculty and administration largely consisted of white people. The first African-American to be president was Joseph J. Rhoads, who assumed the leadership role in 1929 and remained through the Great Depression and World War II.[1] During his presidency, Bishop phased out its high school programs and placed emphasis on its new two-year ministerial program. During the 1930s and 1940s the ministerial program evolved into the Lacy Kirk Williams Institute, which attracted national attention; its attendants included the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Jesse Jackson.
In 1961, after receiving a grant from the Hoblitzelle Foundation, Bishop moved to a 360-acre (1.5 km2) campus in Dallas. In Dallas, enrollments increased, peaking at almost 2,000 students around 1970.[1]
The college closed in 1988 after a financial scandal led to the revocation of its accreditation, as well as its eligibility to receive funds from charities such as the United Negro College Fund. The campus, purchased in 1990 by Comer S. Cottrell, is now the site of Paul Quinn College.[2]
In 2006, the president of Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky proposed a plan to Bishop College alumni to make Georgetown their adopted alma mater. Georgetown offers scholarships to children or grandchildren of Bishop alumni or students nominated by Bishop alumni. Upon graduation, these students receive diplomas with the name and insignia of Bishop College. Georgetown president William H. Crouch Jr. hopes the program will help the college reach its goal of increasing minority enrollment to 25% by 2012.[3]
[edit] Notable alumni
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rev. Dr. R. H. Boyd | founder and head of the National Baptist Publishing Board | [4] | |
| William Harris | NFL player, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers | ||
| Tony McGee | 1971 | NFL Player, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears | |
| William Nickerson, Jr. | Founder of Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company, at one time largest black-owned business in the West | [5][6] | |
| Emmitt Thomas | member of the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Bishop College: Texas school continues historic push for academic excellence, Ebony, May 1981
- ^ History of Bishop College, Georgetown College website, accessed August 9, 2009
- ^ Moser, Kate (2008-06-06). "A Home for Alumni of a Defunct College". The Chronicle of Higher Education 54 (39): p. A6. http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i39/39a00603.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ Joe Early, Jr., Richard Henry Boyd: Shaper of Black Baptist Identity, Baptist History and Heritage, Summer-Fall, 2007
- ^ Nickerson, Kim (February 14, 2008). "Black history: Nickerson, a pioneer of black business in Los Angeles". Los Angeles Sentinel (Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Sentinel): pp. C–3,C-4.
- ^ Poinsett, Alex (March 1990) "Unsung black business giants:pioneer entrepreneurs laid foundations for today’s enterprises" Ebony (Chicago, Illinois: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.) 45 (5): 96,98,100
[edit] External links
- Bishop College from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Bishop College Alumni Association
