MAKING HBCU PRIDE WORLDWIDE
Roadtrip Season
HBCU SPOTLIGHT
North Carolina Central University in Durham was the first state-supported liberal arts college for African American students in North Carolina. It was chartered as a private institution in 1909 and opened its doors to students in July 1910. Its founder, James E. Shepard, served as its first president. In the beginning the college was known as the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua. The School of Law began operation in 1940, and the School of Library Science was created in 1941. Because of this growth and expansion, the legislature changed the name of the institution to North Carolina College at Durham. In 1969 the legislature again changed the name of the college to reflect its new university status. In 1972 North Carolina Central University became a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System. The NCCU School of Law is regarded as one of the best law schools in the country in terms of educational value and affordability. In 2011 the North Carolina Central marching band (Marching Sound Machine) participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA. North Carolina Central University continues to grow with an enrollment of nearly 9,000 students.
Shaw University, founded in Raleigh in 1865, was the first African American institution of higher learning in the South and one of the first in the nation. The university had its beginnings in December 1865, when Henry Martin Tupper, a white educator from Monson, Mass., started a class in theology for the purpose of teaching former slaves how to read and interpret the Bible. From this class evolved the Raleigh Institute (1866), later changed to Shaw Collegiate Institute (1870) and finally incorporated as Shaw University (1875). Shaw University graduated its first college class in 1878, its first medical school class in 1882, its first law class in 1890, and its first pharmacy class in 1893. Shaw has provided North Carolina with many educational leaders. North Carolina Central University, Elizabeth City State University, and Fayetteville State University were all founded by Shaw graduates, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University was housed at Shaw during its first year of operation.
