Rate this HBCU Day 38: Interdenominational Theological Center

[DrBanneker]

We last covered the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff which received an average score of 6.6.

See the updated leaderboard here

The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a small graduate studies only divinity and theology school in Atlanta, GA. Originally the brain child of then Morehouse president Dr. Benjamin Mays, the ITC was created with a similar vision that former Morehouse president John Hope had for the Atlanta University Center decades earlier. In the 1950s, President Mays was concerned that the many smaller Black divinity schools, such as the Gammon Theological Seminary (United Methodist) and the Morehouse School of Religion (Baptist) would not be able to have the resources to become leading institutions in their own right.

Therefore throughout the 1950s, and with a donation from John Rockefeller Jr., the idea was developed to create a unified theology school focused on Black theology and uniting the theology schools and divinity traditions of a variety of Christian denominations. In 1958 the ITC was born though its building was not complete until 1961. Though not an official member of the Atlanta University Center, it pulls on some of its resources including Robert Woodruff Library. The founding seminaries were the Morehouse School of Religion (Baptist), Gammon Theological Seminary (United Methodist), Turner Theological Seminary (African Methodist Episcopal), and the Phillips School of Theology (Christian Methodist Episcopal). Gammon's then president, Harry Van Buren Richardson became the first president of the ITC.

They were later joined by the Johnson C. Smith School of Theology (formerly in Charlotte) that was Presbyterian affiliated (though they left the ITC in 2014), the Charles H. Mason Theological Seminary (Church of God in Christ/C.O.G.I.C.), Absalom Jones Theological Institute (Episcopal) for the 1970s, the Lutheran Theological Center, and the Selma T. and Harry V. Richardson Ecumenical Fellowship which covers 10 smaller denominations.

The institution is known as a leading center of Black and Africentric focused theology as well as Black liberationist theology and other Christian perspectives.



Dr. Benjamin Mays

Founded: 1958

City, State: Atlanta, GA

Type: 4-year, Private not-for-profit

Nickname: N/A

Enrollment and percent Black enrollment: 237 (all Masters and Doctoral students), 96% Black

Part-time student percentage: 45%

First Generation Student Percentage: N/A

Percentage of students from households under $30k/over $100k: N/A

Out of State Percentage: N/A

Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 16:1

Admissions Acceptance Rate: N/A

4-yr/6-yr graduation rates: N/A

Transfer out rate: N/A

Male/Female percentages (Female:Male Ratio): 55% male/ 45% female (0.81:1)

Tuition: $14k

Median Federal Debt After Graduation: N/A

Median Parent PLUS Loans After Graduation: N/A

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

Median Earnings for specific majors after 3 years after graduation:

Top Majors by Degrees: Divinity (Masters), Theology (PhD)

Endowment: ~$5M

Alumni Engagement: N/A

Athletic Conference: N/A

Mascot: N/A


Notable Alumni:

Charles R. Stith - former ambassador to Tanzania; negotiated the first debt reduction for an African nation

Dr. Gina Stewart - pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church (Memphis, TN)

Dr. Penny Brown Reynolds - Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Management and Operations, in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the USDA (think Black farmer relief); former chief counsel to the Governor of Georgia

Dr. Gayraud Wilmore - Historian of the African-American Church

Main Campus

@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

 

[Rollie Forbes]

I've never heard of this school, but I'll give it a 7 just off the strength of Dr. Benjamin Mays, and the fact that it offers a doctorate program.

 

[get these nets]

Great series and great profile.

Very impressed by the forward thinking leaders in Atlanta. First reading about the formation of the AUC, and now reading about how the ITC was formed.
The climate for that city to become the Black "mecca" was in the works for decades before Mayor Maynard Jackson put the economic tools in place.

Checked the Black %, and Bennett and Spelman still hold the title for Blackest schools. Thought ITC would be 100, hehehehehe

*and "Mecca" is in quotations, because thread is about a Christian Institution. Not blaspheming on a Sunday. just jokes

 

[get these nets]

I see Black and White pictures of female students. What year did the school become co-ed or was it like that from the beginning?

 

[Rollie Forbes]

Great series and great profile.

Very impressed by the forward thinking leaders in Atlanta. First reading about the formation of the AUC, and now reading about how the ITC was formed.
The climate for that city to become the Black "mecca" was in the works for decades before Mayor Maynard Jackson put the economic tools in place.

Checked the Black %, and Bennett and Spelman still hold the title for Blackest schools. Thought ITC would be 100, hehehehehe

*and "Mecca" is in quotations, because thread is about a Christian Institution. Not blaspheming on a Sunday. just jokes

Facts, Breh. @DrBanneker has done a wonderful job of highlighting our well-known schools, and introducing us to lesser known HBCUs.
This series could honestly be published and used a guide for students, parents, and people who are interested in the rich history of HBCUs.

 

[DrBanneker]

I see Black and White pictures of female students. What year did the school become co-ed or was it like that from the beginning?

It was always co-ed as the ITC. The picture with only women actually goes back to the Gammon Theological Seminary in the 1950s. The Morehouse School of Religion may have been men only but when it merged it became a co-ed institution.

 

[Chrishaune]

Sounds like a good spot.

 

[DropTopDoc]

Facts, Breh. @DrBanneker has done a wonderful job of highlighting our well-known schools, and introducing us to lesser known HBCUs.
This series could honestly be published and used a guide for students, parents, and people who are interested in the rich history of HBCUs.

This… all this

I’m honestly surprised it’s not more graduate level theological schools that are hbcu