Spelman College

Spelman College is a four-year liberal-arts college for women in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1881, the historically black institution began as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary. Spelman enrolls about 2,100 students. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium of historically black colleges and universities in Atlanta.

History

Spelman was founded in 1881 in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, by two teachers from Massachusetts: Harriet E. Giles and Sophia B. Packard. Miss Giles and Miss Packard began the school with 11 black women, one girl and $100 given to them by a church congregation in Medford, Mass. The school was originally named the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary. In 1882 the two women returned to Massachusetts to bid for more money, and they were introduced to wealthy businessman John D. Rockefeller, who promised he would get in contact with the women again if they "stuck" with the mission they had set out on.

Related Topics:
Massachusetts - John D. Rockefeller

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Giles and Packard indeed stuck. In 1883, the school relocated to a nine acre (36,000 m²) site in Atlanta relatively close to the church they began in, which originally had only five buildings to support classroom and residence hall needs. The school was able to survive on generous donations by the black community in Atlanta, the efforts of volunteer teachers, and gifts of supplies.

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In April 1884 Rockefeller visited the school and decided that he liked what he saw, so he settled the debt on the property. The name of the school was changed to the Spelman Seminary, in honor of Rockefeller's in-laws the Spelmans, longtime activists in the anti-slavery movement. Rockefeller's gift precipitated a flurry of interest from other benefactors, and their investements allowed the school to flourish.

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Rockefeller also donated the funds for what is currently the oldest building on campus, Rockefeller Hall; in 1887 Packard Hall was also established. Packard was appointed as Spelman's first president in 1888, after the charter for the seminary was granted. The first college degrees were awarded in 1901.

Related Topics:
1887 - 1888 - 1901

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