Livingstone College Explained

Livingstone College should not be confused with Livingston College.

Livingstone College
Former Name:Zion Wesley Institute (1879–1887)
Motto:A Call To Commitment. Taking Livingstone College to the next level
Established:1879
President:Anthony Davis
Faculty:58 full time, 19 part time (fall 2022)[1]
Students:839 (fall 2022)[2]
Country:U.S.
Campus:Small town, 272acres
Colors: Columbia blue and black
Nickname:Blue Bears
Mascot:Blue Bear
Module:
Livingstone College Historic District
Embed:yes
Nrhp Type:hd
Nocat:yes
Location:W. Monroe St., Salisbury, North Carolina
Coordinates:35.6706°N -80.4831°W
Architecture:Victorian Eclectic
Added:May 27, 1982
Refnum:82003509

Livingstone College is a private historically black Christian college in Salisbury, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Livingstone College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's degrees.

History

Livingstone College along with Hood Theological Seminary began as Zion Wesley Institute in Concord, North Carolina in 1879. After fundraising by Joseph C. Price and J. W. Hood, the school was closed in Concord and reopened in 1882 a few miles north in Salisbury.[3]

Zion Wesley Institute was founded by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church. The institute changed its name to Livingstone College in 1887 to honor African missionary David Livingstone. That same year, the school granted its first degree.[4] The first group of students to graduate included eight men and two women, the first black women to earn bachelor's degrees in North Carolina.[5]

Originally beginning with 40 acres on a Salisbury farm called Delta Grove, Livingstone College's main campus now consists of 272 acres.[6]

In August 2014, Livingstone submitted plans for converting a former Holiday Inn on Jake Alexander Boulevard into a hospitality school.[7] Livingstone's School of Hospitality Management & Culinary Arts, a program accredited in 2012, had moved to the new location by 2015.[8] [9]

Livingstone College Historic District

The Livingstone College Historic District is a national historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The district encompasses 16 contributing buildings, 1 contributing structure, and 1 contributing object on the Livingstone College campus and adjacent residential sections in Salisbury. Notable buildings include the Price house (1884), Harris house (1889), Aggrey house (1912), Ballard Hall (1887), Dodge Hall (1886), Carnegie Library (1908), Goler Hall (1917), Hood Building (1910), and Price Memorial Building (1930-1943).[10]

Athletics

On the campus is an athletic marker erected in 1956 to commemorate the first African-American intercollegiate football game, in 1892.[10]

Livingstone is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Division II, and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). Its intercollegiate sports programs include basketball, bowling, cross-country, football, softball, volleyball, tennis, golf, and track and field. The nickname for the school's teams is the Blue Bears.

The Livingstone College football team has had a long history since playing in the first Black college football game in 1892 against Johnson C. Smith University (then called Biddle University).[11] The rivalry between the two schools continues to this day as the Commemorative Classic. The Blue Bears also maintain a rivalry with their cross town rival Catawba College Indians. The early October game between the two schools is called the Mayors' Cup.

The current football stadium that the university uses for matches is the Alumni Memorial Stadium (Livingstone)

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: College Navigator - Livingstone College .
  2. Web site: College Navigator - Livingstone College .
  3. Web site: About Livingstone. Livingstone College. February 12, 2013.
  4. Encyclopedia: Franz. Alyssa. Livingstone College (1879--). Online Encyclopedia of Significant People and Places in African American History. 11 March 2010 . BlackPast.org. May 4, 2012.
  5. Book: Gilmore. Glenda Elizabeth. Gender and Jim Crow: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920. registration. 1996. The University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill. 978-0807845967. 40.
  6. News: Campbell. Sarah. Livingstone College has history of producing leaders. February 12, 2013. The Salisbury Post. February 14, 2011. https://archive.today/20130411183532/http://www.salisburypost.com/article/20110307/SP0101/303079999/0/SEARCH&slId=5. April 11, 2013. dead.
  7. News: City approves new Holiday Inn, Livingstone buying old hotel. January 31, 2020. The Salisbury Post. August 20, 2014.
  8. News: City approves new Holiday Inn, Livingstone buying old hotel. Groh. Jeanie. January 31, 2020. The Salisbury Post. January 3, 2015.
  9. News: Livingstone hosts fundraiser for Heritage Hall renovation. Willis. Laurie D.. January 31, 2020. The Salisbury Post. October 8, 2015.
  10. Web site: Dave Brown . Livingstone College Historic District. National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory . June 1980. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office . 2015-02-01.
  11. News: Greenlee. Craig T.. Small schools - Where Football Is An Activity, Not a Business. May 4, 2012. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. June 17, 2007.