Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving African Americans. Most of these institutions were founded during the Reconstruction era after the Civil War and are concentrated in the Southern United States. They were primarily founded by Protestant religious groups, until the Second Morill Act of 1890 required educationally segregated states to provide African American, public higher-education schools in order to receive the Act's benefits.
Clark Atlanta University is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Founded on September 19, 1865 as Atlanta University, it consolidated with Clark College to form Clark Atlanta University in 1988. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
John Hope, born in Augusta, Georgia, was an American educator and political activist, the first African-descended president of both Morehouse College in 1906 and of Atlanta University in 1929, where he worked to develop graduate programs. Both are historically Black colleges.
Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 students in 12 colleges and schools. Mercer is a member of the Georgia Research Alliance. It is classified as a "R2: Doctoral Universities — High research activity".
Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association after the American Civil War to provide education to freedmen. The campus houses the Hampton University Museum, which is the oldest museum of the African diaspora in the United States and the oldest museum in the commonwealth of Virginia. First led by former Union General Samuel Chapman Armstrong, Hampton University's main campus is located on 314 acres in Hampton, Virginia, on the banks of the Hampton River.
Richard Robert Wright Sr. was an American military officer, educator and college president, politician, civil rights advocate and banking entrepreneur. Among his many accomplishments, he founded a high school, a college, and a bank. He also founded the National Freedom Day Association in 1941.
Savannah State University is a public historically black university in Savannah, Georgia. It is the oldest historically black public university in the state. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Cyrus Gilbert Wiley served as president of Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youth from 1921 and until 1926. He succeeded the first president, Richard R. Wright.
James A. Colston (1910–1982) was a high school principal and served as president of several colleges in the United States. He served as president of Bethune-Cookman University 1942-46; Georgia State College 1947-51; and Knoxville College 1951-65. He became the first African American to serve as president of a college in the state of New York and was among the first to lead a predominantly white college when he was named president of the Bronx Community College in 1966.
Howard Jordan Jr. served as president of Savannah State College from 1963 and until 1971.
Roderick J. McDavis was the 20th president of Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio.
The 2008 Savannah State Tigers football team competed in college football on behalf of the Savannah State University. The Tigers competed an independent as the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. This was the first season under the guidance of head coach Robby Wells.
Mark A. Heckler is a former president of Valparaiso University. He was named the 18th president of the university on July 1, 2008, succeeding Alan Harre, and served until September 1, 2020, when he was named president emeritus.
Henry Johnson Eyring is an American academic administrator who served as the 17th president of Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho) from 2017 to 2023. From 2019 to 2023, he also served as an area seventy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He previously served as both the academic and the advancement vice president at BYU-Idaho, as well as director of the Marriott School of Business (MSB) MBA program at Brigham Young University (BYU).
The Black Ivy League refers to a segment of the historically black colleges (HBCUs) in the United States that attract the majority of high-performing or affluent Black students.
Edmund Asa Ware was an American educator and the first president of Atlanta University, serving from 1869 to 1885.
Georgia Baptist College was a private grade school and college in Macon, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Central City College and was renamed in 1938. It closed due to financial difficulties in 1956.
John Hosea Washburn (1859-1932) was an American chemist with expertise in agricultural chemistry, and university administrator who served as the founding president of Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts from 1892 to 1902, and director of the National Farm School from 1902 to 1917.
Karla-Sue Marriott is a professor of forensic science in the School of Justice Studies at Roger Williams University and the director for the RWU Forensic Science program. She is known for her work in 3-D virtual reality for training students. She also contributed to research at NASA that helped launch the Space-X 3 Falcon 9 Rocket's Dragon Capsule.
Alonzo Graseano Morón, was a Danish Virgin Islands-born American educator, university president, sociologist, and civil servant. He was the first Black president of the Hampton Institute a HBU in Virginia, from 1949 to 1959; a former Commissioner of Education and of Welfare in the Virgin Islands; and a former deputy regional director of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
