| Shaw University | |
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| Established | 1865 |
| Type: | Private |
| President: | Dr. Clarence G. Newsome |
| Undergraduates: | 2,500 |
| Location | Raleigh, North Carolina, USA |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Athletics: | 14 Varsity Teams |
| Mascot: | Bear |
| Athletics: | 14 varsity teams |
| Website: | www.shawuniversity.edu |
Shaw University is a historically black college located in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. It offers several undergraduate degrees in the fine and liberal arts as well as natural science, and also degrees in allied health, business, public administration, education and computer science. Shaw Divinity School offers a Master of Divinity and Master of Religious Education. Shaw University is the oldest HBCU in the American South. A liberal arts university, Shaw is associated with the Baptist church and, as of 2004, enrolls over 2,300 students.
History
Shaw University was the first African American college in the Southern United States.[1] Started as a theology class by the Rev. Henry Martin Tupper in December 1865, the present university was called the Raleigh Institute from 1866 until 1870, when it was renamed Shaw Collegiate Institute after Elijah Shaw, the benefactor of Shaw Hall, the college's first building. In 1875, it became Shaw University. In 1873, Estey Hall was erected for female students, making it the first such dormitory in the U.S. on a coeducational campus. The Leonard Medical School, now closed, was founded in 1885 as the first four-year medical school in the South to train black doctors and pharmacists. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a major force in the American Civil Rights movement, began at a conference held at Shaw in [1960]through Ella Baker (1927) and also,the coordinator of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). N Notable Shaw Alumni
- James E. Shepard (1894), founder of North Carolina Central University
- William L. Pollard (1967), President of University of D.C.
- Lee Monroe (1970), President of Voorhees College
- Willie E. Gary(1971), multi-millionaire renowned attorney and Chairman of the Black Family Channel
- Lee Johnson (1975), President & CEO of Mechanics & Farmers Bank
- James “Bonecrusher” Smith (1975), first heavyweight boxing champion with a college degree
- Shirley Caesar (1984), renowned pastor and gospel music sensation.
- Vernon Malone a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's fourteenth Senate district, including constituents in Wake county
- NBA player Ronald "Flip" Murray (2002), who is currently with the Detroit Pistons.
Shaw University has been called the mother of African-American colleges in North Carolina. North Carolina Central, Elizabeth City State, and Fayetteville State Universities were founded by Shaw graduates. The founder of Livingstone College spent his first two college years at Shaw before transferring to Lincoln University, PA and what is now A&T State University was located on Shaw’s campus during its first year of existence. In addition, the Student Non-Violence Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was an outgrowth of a conference held on the campus of Shaw University in 1960.
