Rate this HBCU Day 32: Bennett College

[DrBanneker]

Yesterday we looked at Winston-Salem State College in North Carolina which received a high average score of 8.4.

See the updated leaderboard here

Bennett college is one of only two women only HBCUs--the other being its much more well-known cousin Spelman. Bennett is small, less than 300 students, but has a long history going back to 1873 when it was founded to educate free slaves and started classes in St. Matthews Methodist Episcopal Church. Its name comes from benefactor Lyman Bennett, a New York industrialist, who donated $10,000 to purchase land and erect school buildings.

It is not widely known but Bennett was actually co-ed up until 1926 when the decision was made to make it an all-woman school. At the time there was no four-year liberal arts college just for Black women; up until the late 1920s, Spelman was still primarily a seminary. So Bennett College became the first four year college solely for Black women though Spelman also became a college in 1927 and surpassed it in enrollment and notoriety over the decades.

Bennett has one of the highest alumni giving rates of HBCUs (30%) but despite this has had financial difficulties in the last few years. In 2018 it teetered on the brink of insolvency and loss of accreditation. A fundraising campaign for $5 million was started and fortunately brought in enough money through a combination of HBCU alumni, churches, frats/sororities, Papa Johns, and institutions. They ended up pulling in $10M. The Coli actually had its own thread soliciting donations (see below). For comparison though, Spelman received ONE donation of $30M that same year.

Bennett College looks like it turned the corner for now but highlights the struggles of many HBCUs. It has strong alumni support but it will still need to fight to find enough money to support its future and provide good financial aid to its students. Luckily it has historically been able to attract strong leaders such as former Spelman head Johnetta Cole and professor Julianne Malveaux.

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/we-love-our-black-women-help-save-bennett-college-the-2nd-all-black-womens-college.688017/

Will Anyone Save Black Colleges?

Bennett College in North Carolina needed to raise $5 million to try to save its accreditation. Meanwhile, transformational donations are going to other schools.

www.theatlantic.com

The Inside Story Of How Bennett College Kept Its Accreditation Despite Financial And Legal Woes - The Seattle Medium

By Merdie Nzanga Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Howard University News Service (Trice Edney Wire) – The music director at the Alfred Street Baptist Church was a good person to be in a good place at a very important time. And she did something especially beneficial for her alma...

seattlemedium.com

MLK at Bennett

Founded: 1873

City, State: Greensboro, NC

Type: 4-Year, Private (United Methodist affiliation)

Nickname: Belles

Enrollment and percent Black enrollment: 207 (all undergraduate), 97% Black

Part-time student percentage: 13%

First Generation Student Percentage: 32%

Percentage of students from households under $30k/over $100k: 54% / 6%

Out of State Percentage: 61%

Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 9:1

Admissions Acceptance Rate: 79%

4-yr/6-yr graduation rates: 18% / 32%

Transfer out rate: 65%

Male/Female percentages (Female:Male Ratio): 100% female

Tuition: $18.6k

Median Debt After Graduation: $31,000

Median Earning 10-Years after 10 years from freshman year: N/A

Median Earnings for specific majors after 3 years after graduation:
N/A


Top Majors by Degrees:
Business Administration, Biology, Journalism, Psychology, Liberal Arts


Endowment: ~$15M

Alumni Engagement: 30% of alumni give back

Athletic Conference: United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) (NCAA Div 3)

Mascot: N/A

Notable Alumni:

Carolyn R. Payton - Head of the Peace Corps under Jimmy Carter

Hattie Carwell - physicist

Yvonne Johnson - former mayor of Greensboro

Dorothy L. Brown - first Black woman surgeon from the Southeastern US

And lots of famous female politicians in North Carolina....

Main Campus

Miss Bennett College

@Ghost Utmost @CASHAPP
@ab.aspectus @Originalman @#1 pick @Ziggiy @SupaVillain @Tug life @Idaeo @get these nets @MostReal @Bryan Danielson @Rollie Forbes @Willie Lump Lump @staticshock @Charlie Hustle @BigAggieLean. @Optimus Prime @How Sway? @DropTopDoc @Anerdyblackguy

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

I can’t rate it high like Spelman considering they were on the verge of closing. That being said some women testimonies about this school was amazing. I have to at least give them a 5 for that

 

[Ghost Utmost]

I live a few blocks from there and I have actually stayed on the campus for a Summer program when I was in high school. That was a helluva lot of fun.

We had a crazy food fight the last day of the program. My homeboy was working in the caf that Summer and was mad at me for trashing the place.

 

[Uachet]

My Bennett Sisters. They would come down once a year to see their Brothers. I did send money to help them when they were on the verge of being closed down, just on the weight of them being Morehouse's sister school.

 

[DropTopDoc]

I know a chick that went there, she’s a delta, cool chick, a bit much to date ( my homeboy was)

 

[get these nets]

Great profile of the school. Series becomes more interesting with each entry.
The Clark Atlanta profile gave a rundown on the forming of the AUC. Which would have occurred a few years after Bennett, and Spelman, become colleges.

During the Save Bennett threads, members from that area pointed out that another HBCU's campus is almost adjacent to this school. Is the history and trajectory of Ben. different if they had access to the resources of that larger school the way Spel. was connected to Morehouse and Atlanta U.?

Should they look into doing that in the future?

As it stands, they have the right leadership in place and solid alumni support. They're on track to full accreditation, and righting the ship is what will lead to donors feeling comfortable making contributions. Small student population works to their advantage in this rebuilding period.

 

[DrBanneker]

During the Save Bennett threads, members from that area pointed out that another HBCU's campus is almost adjacent to this school. Is the history and trajectory of Ben. different if they had access to the resources of that larger school the way Spel. was connected to Morehouse and Atlanta U.?

That would be a great idea though I am not sure the NC gov't would have to get involved since the other school is public. At least in the AUC case they were all private schools and they could do what they wanted.

 

[DrBanneker]

Small student population works to their advantage in this rebuilding period.

I mean it's pie in the sky but if they found a way to bag $4M or so every year that could pay the tuition of the whole student body. Even at $2M everyone could get half off or give people scholarships based on need.

 

[get these nets]

That would be a great idea though I am not sure the NC gov't would have to get involved since the other school is public. At least in the AUC case they were all private schools and they could do what they wanted.

Thanks for pointing out that distinction.

 

[DrBanneker]

Thanks for pointing out that distinction.

I think it is a good idea, I just would hope Raleigh would give Bennett a fair deal as far as its payments for whatever allocation (taking classes, using facilities, etc.) they would get. Given how the states are towards public HBCU funding now, I would cross my fingers though it seems NC is better than most states.

What would be great is if they got a lot of the rich Blacks, companies, and foundations that drop bands on Spelman to do a 10% allocation of whatever they donate to Bennett. Getting $100k for every $1M Spelman gets could be all they need. If they had a champion like Melody Hobson or similar maybe that would attract interest. Even most Black folks never heard of them.

 

[get these nets]

I mean it's pie in the sky but if they found a way to bag $4M or so every year that could pay the tuition of the whole student body. Even at $2M everyone could get half off or give people scholarships based on need.

It could happen. They hired the right president, and with a few more years of stability, Bennett will be seen as a place where donor gifts produce returns.

 

[AggiePride336.]

Some good memories have taken place on Bennetts campus. The Belles were our neighbors, and from the start we’d be on their campus. I remember for the longest, we’d go on their campus for the gym jams that usually took place for Bennett and A&T students at the gym on Bennetts campus.
A lot of the Bennett girls would end up on our campus for other different things, as well. Both Bennett and A&T had a program that allowed some of the Bennett girls to take some classes at A&T for their degrees.

I remember when they were going through their issues donating, because going to school in the area, interaction with Bennett students were pretty much an everyday thing. When I worked at Best Buy during college, I worked with 2 girls that went to Bennett. Two of the coolest girls I’ve ever met. I was happy to see their school saved.

None of the numbers are really surprising. A lot of the out of state girls I met were from the DMV and Baltimore area. The campus isn’t very big at all, but it’s a pretty campus. There was a Daddy Grace church that separated Bennett and A&Ts campuses. The school is in a rough area, but most of the girls never had to walk outside of campus. They had a shuttle service that ran around the clock, and most them knew someone from A&T or Greensboro that could get them where they needed to be lol.

Decent university. I’m giving them a 6.

 

[get these nets]

I think it is a good idea, I just would hope Raleigh would give Bennett a fair deal as far as its payments for whatever allocation (taking classes, using facilities, etc.) they would get. Given how the states are towards public HBCU funding now, I would cross my fingers though it seems NC is better than most states.

What would be great is if they got a lot of the rich Blacks, companies, and foundations that drop bands on Spelman to do a 10% allocation of whatever they donate to Bennett. Getting $100k for every $1M Spelman gets could be all they need. If they had a champion like Melody Hobson or similar maybe that would attract interest. Even most Black folks never heard of them.

Current president of Bennett attended same undergrad as Robert F. Smith. She's a roll up sleeves, nuts and bolts worker, not a self promoter unfortunately. Hopefully an alum can take up the fundraising flag.

But Smith sees everything. If she makes a pitch to him at homecoming for $4 million, this will be his likely response

Spoiler

"I saw my net worth,..... and I had that on me"
*just jokes

Lot of things are working in their favor moving forward. In the Women Empowerment era, I can see a lot of partnerships, pipelines, internships, etc coming to Bennett students. That would be more beneficial in the long run. Their grads get off to great starts for careers, with less debt. More likely to be in position to support school in the future.

 

[get these nets]

My Bennett Sisters. They would come down once a year to see their Brothers. I did send money to help them when they were on the verge of being closed down, just on the weight of them being Morehouse's sister school.

I think I remember hearing about that Bennett and Morehouse connection during the Save Bennett threads. Do you remember the backstory, and why Bennett and not Spelman.?

 

[Uachet]

I think I remember hearing about that Bennett and Morehouse connection during the Save Bennett threads. Do you remember the backstory, and why Bennett and not Spelman.?

You know what? I don't actually remember what was said about that. It was over 30 years ago when we were told about it, and I do not think I actually paid enough attention about it since they were so far and Spelman + Clark AU ladies were right across the street from us.

They only came down once a year. During that visit we would give them a warm welcome, but I do not really remember us actually interacting with them besides those visits.

*Looking it up, I see it was developed through the friendship of David Dallas Jones (President of Bennett) and Benjamin E. Mays (President of Morehouse).