DrBanneker
Space is the Place
Yesterday we covered Fort Valley State University that had an average score of 6.8.
See the updated leaderboard here
Today we head to the second HBCU in Kentucky---no Kentucky State is not the only one. Simmons College of Kentucky is located in Louisville and is a small school of less than 200 students. But it has an interesting history with a resurrection story exceeding that of even Morris Brown.
Simmons College of Kentucky was firs envisioned in 1865 by the Convention of Colored Baptist Churches in Kentucky though it wasn't formally founded until 1879. Its second president (and namesake) was Dr. William J. Simmons, an ex-slave you had helped develop the teacher training program at Howard University. It focused on several degrees, most prominently nursing and law.
However, it was soon nearly snuffed out in 1930 as the Depression forced it to foreclose on its mortgage. It sold its land and buildings to the University of Kentucky for the U of K's segregated Black school, Municipal College for the Colored, University of Louisville. Having had 500 students before the closure it was forced to drastically downsize, teaching only theology, and moved classes into the Black orphanage in Louisville.
In 1950 it built Axton Hall behind the Orphanage to teach classes. In 1996, its rebirth began when the St. Stephen Baptist Church purchased the original campus of Simmons University. In 2005, the church's pastor Kevin W. Cosby became president of Simmons and in 2007 Simmons College returned to its old campus 77 years later. Since the church bought the land in an all-cash transaction, there is no risk of mortgage foreclosure like in 1930.
Since 2007 Simmons regained accreditation and has been building its endowment (including a $5M donation) and slowly growing its student body. It teaches primarily business, communications, and sociology.
Interestingly, having been small so long, it never obtained official HBCU status until 2015 when it was finally granted HBCU status by the Department of Education.
Founded: 1879
City, State: Louisville, KY
Type: 4-year, Private not-for-profit; American Baptist affiliated
Nickname: Falcons
Enrollment and percent Black enrollment: 163 (all undergraduate), 98% Black
Part-time student percentage: 29%
First Generation Student Percentage: 47%
Percentage of students from households under $30k/over $100k: 85% / N/A
Out of State Percentage: 59%
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 3:1
Admissions Acceptance Rate: 58%
4-yr/6-yr graduation rates: 29% / 43%
Transfer out rate: 23%
Male/Female percentages (Female:Male Ratio): 56% male/ 44% female (0.8:1)
Tuition: $17k
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: N/A
Top Majors by Degrees:
Business Administration, Sociology, Religion, Music
Endowment: ~$5-10M
Alumni Engagement: N/A
Athletic Conference: National Christian College Athletic Association
Mascot: Falcons
Notable Alumni:
Samuel M. Plato - noted architect in post WWII America designing federal buildings and schools
Artishia Gilbert-Wilkerson - first Black woman licensed as a physician in Kentucky
Arenia Mallory - Black woman civil rights and woman's rights activists in the early 20th century. President of Saints Academy in Mississippi, one of the best private schools for Black students in the state during segregation
Main Campus
Miss Simmons College
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minus that I'm sure it's a decent school
One persons actions doesn’t represent a university ideals and morals.
