Rate this HBCU Day 52: LeMoyne-Owen College

[DrBanneker]

We last celebrated the halfway mark of the series covering Howard University which received an average score of 8.3.

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Tennessee has a number of famous HBCUs but they are all clustered in one city, Nashville, where you can find Fisk University, Meharry Medical College, Tennessee State University, and American Baptist College. Outside of Nashville are only two: Lane College which was covered earlier and the only HBCU in Memphis LeMoyne-Owen College.

Le Moyne-Owen is the result of a merger of two HBCUs in 1968, LeMoyne, the older college, and Owen College a junior college. Le Moyne has established in 1862 during the Civil War occupation of Memphis by Union troops. Northern missionaries established the LeMoyne Normal and Commercial School, named after Francis LeMoyne, a prominent Pennsylvania doctor and abolitionist.

The school was destroyed in the 1866 race riots after Federal troops withdrew briefly before Reconstruction began in earnest but was rebuilt the next year. It became a four year college in 1930 and merged with decades old Owen College in 1968.

It has always been a relatively small school and survived a brush with closure in 2006 with a campaign for donations that included Tom Joyner and the United Church of Christ. In 2021 it received a $40M donation that shot its endowment from $12M to $52M from the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.




Founded: 1871 (LeMoyne College; merged with Owen College in 1968)

City, State: Memphis, TN

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

Nickname: The Magicians

Enrollment and percent Black enrollment: 613 (all undergraduate), 97% Black

Part-time student percentage: 14%

First Generation Student Percentage: 49%

Percentage of students from households under $30k/over $100k: 76% / N/A

Out of State Percentage: 24% (top states: Illinois, Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas)

Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 11:1

Admissions Acceptance Rate: 98%

4-yr/6-yr graduation rates: 7% / 18%

Transfer out rate: N/A

Male/Female percentages (Female:Male Ratio): 35% male/ 65% female (1.9:1)

Tuition: $12k

Median Federal Debt After Graduation: $26k

Median Parent PLUS Loans After Graduation: N/A

Median Earning 10-Years after 10 years from freshman year: $28k

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

Top Majors by Degrees:
Business Administration, Biology, Criminal Justice, Liberal Arts, Computer Science

Endowment: $52M (incl. $40M from the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis)

Alumni Engagement: 8.5% of alumni give back

Athletic Conference: SIAC (NCAA Div II)

Mascot: The Magicians

Notable Alumni:

Marion Barry - long-time Washington DC mayor

Benjamin Hooks – former executive director of NAACP

Larry Robinson - Chemist and president of FAMU

W. W. Herenton - long time mayor of Memphis

Main Campus

Brownlee Hall

Residence Hall

Jason Gymnasium

Golf Team
Dominique Worthen

Percussion band

Cheerleaders

Miss LeMoyne-Owen

@OliviaTwist @Scaar @Rhyme n Tekniq @Ezekiel 25:17 @Colicat @thaKEAF @SpacedOutGeek @bordeaux @RawDogBandit
@ab.aspectus @Originalman @#1 pick @Ziggiy @SupaVillain @Tug life @Idaeo @get these nets @MostReal @Bryan Danielson @Rollie Forbes @Sonic Boom of the South @staticshock @Charlie Hustle @BigAggieLean. @Optimus Prime @How Sway? @DropTopDoc @Johnny seawolf

 

[get these nets]

Great profile of the school.

I remember reading about that $40 million going to their endowment. That's a huge amount of support.

With no disrespect to current leadership, this seems like a school that needs to revamp their board of trustees and/or president to go along with the big bump in endowment.

Completion rates are terrible. With it's partial history of being a CC, they should have better support for new students.

 

[DrBanneker]

Great profile of the school.

I remember reading about that $40 million going to their endowment. That's a huge amount of support.

With no disrespect to current leadership, this seems like a school that needs to revamp their board of trustees and/or president to go along with the big bump in endowment.

Completion rates are terrible. With it's partial history of being a CC, they should have better support for new students.

Yeah, I try not to go in on schools in the description but those graduation rates are embarrassing. Even with a history as a CC, only 14% of students now are part-time so they don't have the same excuse a school like JF Drake does in that their students are part-time commuters and less likely to finish.

The only thing I can think of is that the low-income students (about 76%) are overwhelmingly dropping out due to zero financial help from the school. That would make more sense though the 98% acceptance rate says this is an open enrollment school in all but name.

 

[get these nets]

LeMoyne-Owen College President Vernell Bennett-Fairs resigns after 2.5 years

Bennett-Fairs started as LeMoyne-Owen's 13th president on Jan. 5, 2021, succeeding interim President Carol Johnson-Deal who took the role in 2019.

www.commercialappeal.com

LeMoyne-Owen College president resigns, interim president selected​

06/09/23
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - LeMoyne-Owen College's executive leader, Dr. Vernell A. Bennett-Fairs, has resigned, the college announced.

The Historically Black College in the Soulsville neighborhood of Memphis accepted her resignation June 9, according to a release.

Dr. Christopher Davis has been appointed as interim president to manage and guide the college until a permanent candidate is selected, the school said.

 

[DropTopDoc]

Ain’t no way a hbcu near Memphis should struggle