Livingstone College
Historically black college in Salisbury, North Carolina, US
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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.
(1879–1887)
| |
Former names | Zion Wesley Institute (1879–1887) |
|---|---|
| Motto | A Call To Commitment. Taking Livingstone College to the next level |
| Type | Private historically black college |
| Established | 1879 |
Religious affiliation | African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church |
| President | Anthony Davis |
| Faculty | 57 full time, 17 part time (fall 2024)[1] |
| Students | 936 (fall 2024)[1] |
| Undergraduates | 924 |
| Postgraduates | 12 |
| Location | , , U.S. |
| Campus |
|
| Colors | Columbia blue and black |
| Nickname | Blue Bears |
Sporting affiliations |
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| Mascot | The Blue Bear |
| Website | livingstone.edu |
 | |
Livingstone College Historic District | |
 Livingstone College, September 2012 | |
  Location within North Carolina  Location within the United States | |
| Location | W. Monroe St., Salisbury, North Carolina |
| Coordinates | 35°40′14″N 80°28′59″W |
| Area | 23 acres (9.3 ha) |
| Built | 1882 |
| Architectural style | Victorian Eclectic |
| NRHP reference No. | 82003509[2] (original) 100012193 (increase) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 27, 1982 |
| Boundary increase | September 2, 2025 |
 | |
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,[3] 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.[2] 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 named Alumni Memorial Stadium.
Notable alumni
| Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Sterling Acolatse | Ghana jurist, Supreme Court Judge of Ghana | ||
| James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey | preacher, Pan-African thinker and educator | [citation needed] | |
| Bernard E. Anderson | Whitney M. Young, Jr. Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania,[12] where he was the first African American tenured professor[13] was Assistant Secretary of Labor during the Clinton Administration, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Tuskegee University[12][14][15] | ||
| Daniel S. Bentley | minister, writer, and African American newspaper proprietor | [16] | |
| George Lincoln Blackwell | 1888 | theologian and author | [citation needed] |
| Solomon Carter Fuller | 1893 | psychiatrist who made significant contributions to the study of Alzheimer's disease | [citation needed] |
| Ben Coates | 1990 | former NFL All-Pro tight end for New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens | [citation needed] |
| James Benson Dudley | was President of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina from 1896 until his death in 1925 | [citation needed] | |
| Roy Davage Hudson | B.S. 1955 | neuropharmacologist and former president of Hampton University | [17][18] |
| Elizabeth Duncan Koontz | 1938 | 1st Black President of the National Education Association & head of the United States Women's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor[when?] | [citation needed] |
| Vergel L. Lattimore | Air National Guard Brigadier General | [citation needed] | |
| John Kinard | 1960 | Minister, community activist, and first director of the Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, D.C. | [citation needed] |
| Philip A. Payton, Jr. | known as the "Father of Harlem" | [citation needed] | |
| Wilmont Perry | 1997 | former NFL running back for the New Orleans Saints | [citation needed] |
| John Terry | 1991 | former CFL All-Star for the Saskatchewan Roughriders | [citation needed] |
| William J. Trent | 1930 | Executive Director of the United Negro College Fund | https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/29/obituaries/william-trent-83-director-of-negro-college-fund.html |
| Norman Yokely | former baseball pitcher in negro league baseball. He played from 1926 to 1946 with several teams | [citation needed] | |
| Ruth Whitehead Whaley | 1919 | First Black woman admitted to the bar in New York and North Carolina. | [19] |
| Drew Powell | 2015 | Indoor Football League quarterback for the Arizona Rattlers |
Notable faculty
| Name | Department | Notability | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rufus Early Clement | Professor and dean | was the sixth and longest-serving president of historically black Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. | [citation needed] |
| George James | Professor | was a South American historian and author, best known for his 1954 book Stolen Legacy, in which he argued that Greek philosophy originated in ancient Egypt. | |
| Natrone Means | Football coach | Former professional American Football running back who played for the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers of the NFL from 1993 to 2000. | [citation needed] |
| Carolyn R. Payton | Professor | Director of the Peace Corps during the Carter Administration | [citation needed] |
| Norries Wilson | Football coach | he served as the first African-American head football coach in the Ivy League, with the Columbia University football team.[when?] | [citation needed] |
