Tougaloo College

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[edit] Tougaloo College

Motto	Where History Meets the Future
Established	1869
First college classes	1897
School type	Private university
Current President	Beverly W. Hogan
Location	Tougaloo, Mississippi, USA
Enrollment	900+
Full-time Faculty	81
Faculty to Student Ratio	12:1
Mascot	Bulldogs
Publications	Harambee & Tougaloo College News
Homepage	[1]

Tougaloo College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts institution of higher education founded in 1869, in Madison County, on the northern edge of Jackson, Mississippi. Dr. Beverly Wade Hogan, the thirteenth and first female president, began her tenure in 2002. Under her visionary leadership, there has been a 12% increase in enrollment and the retention rate is now 68%.

Tougaloo College is ranked as one of the Best in the Southeast by Princeton Review (2007 edition) and one of the top 20 liberal arts institutions in the nation by The Washington Monthly (2006). It is also included in the U.S. News and World Report's list of best colleges (2007 edition).

According to the National Science Foundation, Tougaloo College ranks among the top 50 U.S. institutions whose graduates earn PhDs in science and engineering disciplines and among the top 15 historically black colleges and universities in the graduation of females with undergraduate degrees in the physical sciences. The College has produced more graduates who have completed their PhD degrees through the UNCF-Mellon Doctoral Fellowship Program than any other institution in the nation.

In 1869, the American Missionary Association of New York purchased five hundred acres of one of the largest former plantations to form Tougaloo University. In 1871, the Legislature of the State of Mississippi granted the institution a charter under the name of "Tougaloo University." Tougaloo remained predominantly a teacher training school until 1892, when the College ceased to receive aid from the state. Courses for college credit were first offered in 1897, and the first Bachelor of Arts degree was awarded in 1901. In 1916, the name of the institution was changed to Tougaloo College.

Six years after Tougaloo's founding, the Home Missionary Society of the Disciples of Christ obtained a charter from the Mississippi State Legislature to establish a school at Edwards, Mississippi, to be known as Southern Christian Institute. The two schools had similar ideals and goals, and therefore, were able to merge in 1954. The new college combined the resources of the two supporting bodies and renewed its dedication to educational advancement and the improvement of race relations in Mississippi. The alumni bodies of the two institutions united to become the National Alumni Association of Tougaloo Southern Christian College. In 1962, by vote of the Board of Trustees, and with the agreement of the supporting bodies, the name was changed again to Tougaloo College.

Tougaloo College faculty and the administration challenge students to be prepared to take advantage of opportunities in the twenty-first global society. Today, more than 40% of Mississippi's practicing African-American physicians, dentists, other health professionals, and attorneys are graduates of Tougaloo College. Over 35% of the State's teachers and administrators at the elementary and secondary levels are Tougalooians.

Tougaloo College is often characterized as a very special place. It is a place where not only does history meet the future, but shapes the future - a place that values traditions and a place where traditions triumph amidst the ever-changing landscape of today's higher educational environment. Amidst these traditions are distinctive resources. The campus includes a Historic District, which is comprised of ten buildings that are each listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The three anchors of the Historic District are the Robert O. Wilder Building also known as "The Mansion," Woodworth Chapel, and Brownlee Gymnasium. Standing in the center of the College campus, The Mansion overlooks the ensemble of buildings forming the College's historic core. The Mansion, constructed in 1860, as the home of John W. Boddie, a wealthy cotton planter and the centerpiece of his 2,000 acre plantation, The Mansion became the nucleus for Tougaloo College and is the oldest building on the College campus. It is presently being restored. Woodworth Chapel, originally known as Woodworth Church, was lovingly built in 1901, by dedicated students under the direction of Walker Frazier, head carpenter. It was restored and rededicated in 2002. In September 2004, the National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded Tougaloo College the Ntional Preservatio Honor Award for the restoration of Woodworth Chapel. The restoration was also recognized by the Mississippi Chapter of the American Institute of Architects who bestowed its Honor Award. Located in the heart of the campus beside Woodworth Chapel is the third anchor of the Historic District, Brownlee Gymnasium. Built in 1947, the building was named in honor of Dr. Fred L. Brownlee, former general secretary of the American Missionary Association. The building will be renovated as a state-of-the-art museum to provide a much needed home for the College's extensive art collection, and renamed the Brownlee Museum and Arts Education Center.

The College's prestigious Tougaloo Art Collection was begun in 1963, by a group of prominent New York artists, curators and critics, initiated by Dr. Ronald Schnell, Professor Emeritus of Art, as a mechanism to motiate his art students. The collection is comprised of pieces by African American, American and European artists. Among the African American portion of the collection are pieces by notable African American artists Jacob Lawrence, Romare Beardon, David Driskell, Richard Hunt, Elizabeth Catlett, and Hale Woodruff. The Tougaloo Art Collection is acknowledged as one of the best college art holdings in the United States and includes one of the nation's most extensive collections of artistic materials documenting the Civil Rights Movement. There are 1,150 works in the Tougaloo Art Collection including paintings, sculptures, drawings, collages, various forms of graphic art and ornamental pieces.

The Tougaloo Art Colony is another distinctive resource of the College. Begun in 1997 under the leadership of former College trustee, Jane Hearn, the Tougaloo Art Colony affords its participants exposure to and intensive instruction by nationally and internationally renowned artists. The annual one-week venue is held in July and includes a Thursday night event open to the public. Past instructors include David Driskell, Audre Lorde, David R. MacDonald, John McDaniel, Akemi Nakana Cohn, Moe Booker, Jamaal Sheats, Jerre Allen, Kevin Cole, Gail Shaw-Clemons, and Hyun Chong Kim.

Known as the "Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi," Tougaloo College faculty were instrumental in changing the racist mores and practices prevalent in Mississippi. Among the faculty activists were Ed King and Ernest Borinski. The "Tougaloo Nine," a group of students who integrated the Jackson Public Library, were the catalysts for activision by students in the Jackson community. Tougaloo College is home to The Civil Rights Library and Archives, considered to be one of the foremost repositories of the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Scholars from around the world regularly use the holdings to support their research. Among the items in The Civil Rights Library and Archives are the original papers, photographs and memorabilia of such luminaries as Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Wiley Evers and Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition, it contains works of notable writers, poets and blues great, B.B. King. Many of these are rare, valuable first editions.

Another distinctive resource of the College is the Medgar Wiley Evers Museum. The home of Mr. Evers and his family was donated to Tougaloo College by his wife and College trustee, Myrlie Evers-Williams, and their children. In 1996, the home was restored to its original condition at the time of Mr. Evers' assassination in the driveway. The College was awarded an historic appropriation grant from the state of Mississippi and an in-kind contribution of furnishings from Castle Rock Productions during the filing of "Ghosts of Mississippi," which chronicled the quest for justice following Mr. Evers' assassination. The museum is open to the public.

Two centers were recently established by President Hogan. The Center for Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility, established in 2004, is built upon the long-standing tradition of activism to overcome social injustice and the promotion of freedom and human rights, a position manifested by the College's leading role in the Civil Rights Movement. The Center serves as a catlyst, a forum and an incubator for new ideas. It promotes research and collaborative programming to broaden and deepen an understanding of public policy and how to influence it through civic engagement among and between Tougaloo College and the citizenry of the community. The Center engages in activities designed to empower citizens so that they will become active participants in the life of their communities by providing a forum for the sharing of ideas, expression of diverse views, and the formulation of opinions and actions that serve the common good.

The Undergraduate Research Center was also established in 2004, to ensure that Tougaloo students are prepared for the rigors of graduate research. More than two-thirds of Tougaloo graduates enroll in graduate or professional schools immediately after attainment of their Tougaloo degrees. Hence, it is imperative that they be prepared. Through the Center, both faculty and students are engaged in meaningful research to advance human knowledge. A major focus is the annual symposium that allows Tougaloo students and students from other institutions to present their research before peers, professors and administrators from Tougaloo College and other institutions.

[edit] Famous Tougalooians

The following people graduated from Tougaloo College:

Myrna Alexander-Nickens, MD, cardiologist
Reuben Anderson, first African American State Supreme Court Judge and graduate of the University of Mississippi Law School
Edward Blackmon, Esq., legislator and nationally renowned attorney
Joanne Boyd-Scotland, PhD, president of Denmark Technical College, Denmark, SC
Matthew Burks, EdD, past president of Arkansas Baptist College
Isaac K. Byrd, Jr., Esq., nationally renowned trial attorney
Aunjanue Ellis, actor
Robert E. Honeysucker, opera singer
Dr. Lillie McCain, PhD, Psychologist
Deborah Hyde, MD, one of four African American female neurosurgeons in the U.S.
Chazeman Jackson, Gates Millennium Scholar and PhD candidate in microbiolgy, Howard University
Okoro Harold Johnson, actor, director and playwright
Joyce Ladner, PhD, sociologist, civil rights activist, and first female president of Howard University
Anne Moody, author and civil rights activist
Bettye Parker-Smith, author, scholar and first female president of Dillard University
Rosentene Bennett Purnell, PhD, British literature scholar and university professor
Oscar Allen Rogers, PhD, former president of Claflin College
Jessie L. Sherrod, MD, MPH, physician
Mary Evans Sias, PhD, first female president of Kentucky State University
Constance Slaughter-Harvey, Esq., attorney and first African American female graduate of the University of Mississippi Law School
Aaron Shirley, MD, founder of Jackson Medical Mall and recipient of MacArthur "Genius" award
Edgar E. Smith, PhD, biochemist and molecular biologist, professor emeritus, University of Massachusetts School of Medicine
Dennis C. Sweet, Esq.,nationally renowned trial lawyer
Bennie Thompson, U.S. Congressman
Walter J. Turnbull, PhD, founder of the Boys Choir of Harlem
Jerry Ward, PhD, author, Richard Wright scholar and university professor
Walter Washington, PhD, past president of Alcorn State University
Joffre T. Whisenton, PhD, past president of Southern University