Richmond Professional Institute

Last updated
Richmond Professional Institute
Richmond Professional Institute logo.png
RPI seal
Active1917–1968
Parent institution
Location
Richmond
,
Virginia
,
U.S.

The Richmond Professional Institute (RPI) was an educational institution established in 1917, which merged with the Medical College of Virginia in 1968 to form Virginia Commonwealth University. RPI was located on what is now known as the Monroe Park Campus of VCU. The entire history of RPI can be found in "A History of the Richmond Professional Institute" written by Dr. Henry H. Hibbs Jr. [1] From 1925, it was part of the College of William & Mary and, later, The Colleges of William & Mary.

Contents

History

Beginning (1916–1917)

Beginning in October 1916, community leaders, brought together by the Bureau of Vocations for Women, [2] organized the Richmond School of Social Economy to address urban social and health concerns and to be "the first of its kind in the south." [3] The school opened on October 11, 1917, with 30 students, all of whom were women. Of the 30 students, 7 were involved in social work and 23 in public health nursing. [4]

In 1920, RPI opened its doors to both men and women, but the first man did not enroll until 1927.

First Building (1917–1919)

Reverend Scherer secured the first home for the Richmond School of Social Work on the third floor of an old brick residence in Capitol Square across from the Governor's mansion at 1112 Capitol Street. At the time nothing suggested a professional school, college, or university in the area and on the building the sign read "Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court." [5]

Surviving the Great Depression with no state support

RPI Pin with the school's original colors, blue and grey, representing North and South. Rpivcu.jpg
RPI Pin with the school's original colors, blue and grey, representing North and South.

In 1925, the school became the Richmond Division of the College of William and Mary because of $10,000 in support given to RPI each year. In the transition to becoming a public institution from 1925 to 1940, the school was one of the few "state-supported colleges" in the country operating almost entirely without state support. [6] The lack of funding was due mainly to a popular belief that Virginia already had too many public universities and that leaders in Virginia believed the only proper location for a college or university was in a small town and not in an urban environment. [7] With the support from The College of William and Mary, it acquired 827 West Franklin Street (now known as Founder's Hall). [8] The building was purchased for $73,000 and $23,000 was needed for repairs. [9] In 1928, the Richmond Division becomes the Richmond Professional Institute of The College of William and Mary. [10] When the Great Depression hit and RPI continued to receive no state support, the federal government stepped in to fill the gap. With the help of the Works Progress Administration, many of the buildings were renovated during the depression. In fact, Dr. Hibbs was quoted as saying,

...if it had not been for the WPA, the Richmond Professional Institute would not have amounted to much. In the days before the legislature made appropriations to RPI the WPA enabled us to survive and even grow a little. [11]

School of Art

In 1928, Hibbs hired the Richmond born Theresa Pollak as the first full-time art instructor. She founded the School of Art, the forerunner to the VCU School of the Arts. [12] It began as one night class with 8 full-time students the first year and 25 or 30 part-time students. Between 1943 and 1945 Clyfford Still, an important member of the developing world of Abstract Expressionism taught art, and furthered his own distinctive style painting dozens of new works. [13]

When RPI became VCU in 1968, the School of the Arts was the largest professional art school in the country, with 1,200 full-time undergraduate students and 75 graduate students.

An Entirely Different College and an Independent State University

In 1939 the school was renamed the Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William and Mary. [14] RPI suffered from having a campus with no new buildings and instead consisted entirely of renovated houses. In effort to improve the image of RPI, the first new buildings were created in the 1950s. In 1951, Franklin Street Gym became the first new building on RPI's campus constructed entirely with state funds. [15]

In RPI's 1953 pamphlet, An Entirely Different College, Hibbs defined a professional institute as a college or university that arranged most of its programs of study around occupations or professions. [16] Not abiding to the traditional University system, RPI gained a reputation as a unique institution in conservative Virginia. [17] This uniqueness found its way into many of the art and literature students during the 1950s and 1960s as they adopted the beatnik look and dress style. When George Oliver took over as president in 1959, he did not believe that RPI still needed the name recognition that William and Mary brought. This, along with growing radicalism among the students and faculty of RPI began to sever the relationship with the parent school.

In 1960, RPI became part of The Colleges of William & Mary, a short-lived system consisting of W&M and its associated institutions. However, both RPI and the Norfolk Division of W&M (soon renamed the Norfolk College of W&M) chafed at being part of the system; RPI was already accredited on its own, and the Norfolk College received its own accreditation in 1961.

The Virginia General Assembly dissolved The Colleges in 1962, with RPI and the Norfolk College (now known as Old Dominion University) becoming independent state universities. At the same time, RPI took on the nickname of Rams. [18]

Becoming VCU

Virginia Commonwealth University was established on July 1, 1968, becoming the first truly urban university in Virginia. [19] In just one year, the new Virginia Commonwealth University was the largest University in the state at a head count of 13,374, of which 12,059 were from the former RPI campus and 1,675 were from the Medical college. [20]

Envisioning a Great Urban University

At the 1969 convocation for VCU, Dr. Brandt envisioned a great urban University, stating, "we are caught up in a thing you might call the Virginia Commonwealth University Idea. It's an exciting concept....an academic approach without precedent, VCU will become a name that will mean a great deal to you in years to come...as one of the leading educational institutions." [21]

VCU's Founding Principles

In his inaugural address as VCU's first president, November 10, 1970, Dr. Warren W. Brandt itemized some of VCU's special educational benefits to the urban community which it serves as a responsive citizen. [22]

  • Provide special programs for those working on urban problems
  • Teach how to live more effectively in the urban environment
  • Offer special material to make students aware of urban problems
  • Provide a faculty with expertise in a wide variety of relevant specialties
  • Furnish a large group of dedicated volunteer workers; faculty, students, and staff
  • Provide health care to a large number residents of Richmond and most of Virginia

Three years later, Dr. Brandt echoed this commitment.

We are striving to be a strong institution with significant emphasis on being an urban university-serving the city, the state, and other institutions. We're not trying to be an elitist institution, but to be an institution which meets the needs of the Urban community by accepting a wide range of students into a variety of programs. [23]

Athletics

From 1948 to 1963, RPI's sport teams were known as the Green Devils due to their affiliation with The College of William and Mary. [24]

In 1963, the mascot was changed to the Rams when RPI became an independent institution. The Green Devils color scheme no longer matched, so RPI chose blue and grey for its new school colors on the recommendation of the School of the Arts faculty, evoking Richmond as a combination of North and South. When RPI merged with MCV, the color scheme was changed to the current black and gold of Virginia Commonwealth University. [25]

Notes

  1. ↑ History of the Richmond Professional Institute. Dig.library.vcu.edu (1977-04-04). Retrieved on 2013-08-21. Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Richmond School of Social Economy – Beginnings. October 1916 – July 1917". Social Welfare History Project. 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  3. ↑ Bonis 2006: 46
  4. ↑ Hibbs 1973: 16
  5. ↑ Bonis 2006: 48
  6. ↑ Bonis 2006: 51
  7. ↑ Hibbs 1973: 58
  8. ↑ Bonis 2006: 51
  9. ↑ Hibbs 1973: 29
  10. ↑ "175th Timeline". VCU 175th Anniversary. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  11. ↑ Hibbs 1973: 67
  12. ↑ Bonis 2006: 52
  13. ↑ Hibbs 1973: 38
  14. ↑ Bonis 2006: 38
  15. ↑ "175th Timeline". VCU 175th Anniversary. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  16. ↑ Bonis 2006: 61
  17. ↑ Bonis 2006: 61
  18. ↑ Bonis 2006: 8
  19. ↑ Hibbs 1973: 139
  20. ↑ Hibbs 1973: 120
  21. ↑ Commonwealth Times 1969-09-24 :: Commonwealth Times. Dig.library.vcu.edu (1969-09-24). Retrieved on 2013-08-21.
  22. ↑ Hibbs 1973: 155
  23. ↑ Hibbs 1973: 156
  24. ↑ Bonis 2006: 64
  25. ↑ Bonis 2006: 70

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Commonwealth University</span> Public university in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia General Assembly merged MCV with the Richmond Professional Institute, founded in 1917, to create Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2022, more than 28,000 students pursued 217 degree and certificate programs through VCU's 11 schools and three colleges. The VCU Health System supports health care education, research, and patient care. It was the only school in the South to have graduated a class every year during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Health Sciences</span> Public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.

Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), part of the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, commonly known as Virginia Health Sciences, is a public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia operated by Old Dominion University. Founded by grassroots efforts in the Southeastern part of Virginia known as Hampton Roads, EVMS has historically not been affiliated with an undergraduate institution and therefore coordinates training through multiple medical centers in the Hampton Roads region. Effective on July 1, 2024, the nearby Old Dominion University merged with EVMS to create a comprehensive university with EVMS being the medical school component of the larger university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VCU School of Medicine</span> Medical school of Virginia Commonwealth University

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine is the medical school of Virginia Commonwealth University, a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. It is the largest and oldest continuously operating medical school in Virginia. The school traces its beginnings to the 1838 opening of the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, which in 1854 became an independent institution known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). In 1968, MCV joined with the Richmond Professional Institute to form Virginia Commonwealth University. The School of Medicine is one of six schools on VCU's MCV Campus, which includes the VCU Medical Center and Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VCU Medical Center</span> Hospital in Virginia, U.S.

The VCU Medical Center, formerly known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), is the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, United States. As MCV, VCU Medical Center merged with the Richmond Professional Institute in 1968 to create VCU. In the 1990s, the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals Authority was created to oversee MCV Hospitals. In 2004, the name of this authority was changed to the VCU Health System, and the MCV Hospitals and surrounding campus were named the VCU Medical Center. The authority oversees the employees and real estate occupied by the five schools within the VCU Medical Center. It was at this time that the MCV Campus moniker was created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VCU School of Business</span>

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business is the business school of Virginia Commonwealth University, a public research university in Richmond, Virginia.

The School of Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University offers academic programs from the baccalaureate to doctoral level. Established in 1893, the School is part of a leading academic health sciences center on the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus. Programs include: Baccalaureate: Traditional B.S., Accelerated B.S., and RN to B.S. (online); Master's - Family NP, Adult-gerontology Primary Care NP, Adult-gerontology Acute Care NP, Psychiatric and Mental Health NP, and Nursing Administration and Leadership (online); Post-master's Certificates; and Doctoral - Ph.D. and DNP.

The Virginia Commonwealth University College of Health Professions, formerly known as the School of Allied Health Professions, is a school of health professions located in the United States city of Richmond. The school is part of Virginia Commonwealth University and is located on VCU's MCV Campus. It is one of only 116 member institutions in the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions in the U.S.

The Colleges of William & Mary was the name of a short-lived educational system in Virginia. It included The College of William & Mary, the Richmond Professional Institute, the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, Christopher Newport College, and Richard Bland College.

The history of Virginia Commonwealth University began in 1838, when the Medical College of Virginia was founded. In 1967 the Medical College of Virginia and the Richmond Professional Institute merged to become one, single university in Richmond, Virginia. Five presidents have served the institution since its merger and creation. VCU's medical school is the oldest continually operating medical school in the South; it created the first school of Social work in the South; and it has the only school of dentistry in Virginia

The Old Dominion–VCU men's basketball rivalry is a men's college basketball rivalry between the VCU Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University and the Old Dominion Monarchs of Old Dominion University. This rivalry is said to be one of the most competitive among middle level Division-I basketball programs.

These are multiple education systems in Richmond, Virginia.

Founded in 1974, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center is a non-profit organization part of Virginia Commonwealth University. Located in Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University is one of the nation's top research universities, and VCU Medical Center, a leading academic health system ranked Virginia's top hospital by U.S. News & World Report in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Mason–VCU rivalry</span> College sports rivalry

The George Mason–VCU rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the VCU Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University and the George Mason Patriots of George Mason University. Both universities are present members of the Atlantic 10 Conference, and for a majority of their rivalry history, members of the Colonial Athletic Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ginter House</span> Historic house in Virginia, United States

Ginter House is the historic former residence of Lewis Ginter in Richmond, Virginia. Built in 1892, it is owned by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and is home to the provost's office. It was used as Richmond's first public library from 1925 until 1930, was used as part of a school, and was the main administrative building on the Monroe Park, Virginia campus of VCU for more than 40 years. In September 2020, the University’s Board of Visitors voted to de-commemorate several buildings on campus named for members of the Confederacy including the Lewis Ginter house. The house is now simply known as the "VCU Administration Building".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theresa Pollak</span> American painter

Theresa Pollak was an American artist and art educator born in Richmond, Virginia. She was a nationally known painter, and she is largely credited with the founding of Virginia Commonwealth University's School of the Arts. She was a teacher at VCU's School of the Arts between 1928 and 1969. Her art has been exhibited in the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. She died at the age of 103 on September 18, 2002 and was given a memorial exhibition at Anderson Gallery of Virginia Commonwealth University.

James Bumgardner (1935–2015) was an expressionist/figurative painter, multi-media artist, and stage set designer who was a Virginia Commonwealth University professor of art in the VCU School of the Arts. As an undergraduate student at Richmond Professional Institute (RPI), Bumgardner was encouraged by his mentor Jewett Campbell to study with the notable Art Students League of New York instructor Hans Hoffman (1880–1966), and Bumgardner received the last scholarship given by Hoffman, a German-born American abstract expressionist painter. Using his scholarship, Bumgardner studied with Hoffman in Provincetown in 1957, during which time he became friends with gallery director Richard Bellamy and artist Jan Müller. In 1963 in Richmond Jim Bumgardner and Jon Bowie co-directed a series of multi-media events or "happenings". The first was called "Synthesis" and was influenced by the productions of Allan Kaprow and the ONCE Festival of New Music of Ann Arbor, Michigan. After "Synthesis" Bumgardner and Jon Bowie invited notable outside performance and visual artists who joined in a series of annual "Bang, Bang, Bang Arts Festival" happenings in Richmond.

Joseph H. Seipel was an American sculptor and conceptual artist who was formerly the Dean of the VCU School of the Arts. He was a member of the VCU faculty for over 40 years. As Dean of VCU arts, he also had oversight of the VCU School of the Arts branch in Doha, Qatar. He administered VCU exchange programs with art and design schools in Finland, India, Israel and Korea. He retired in 2016. He died on June 12, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace E. Harris</span> American university administrator

Grace E. Harris., was an administrator from Virginia Commonwealth University.

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts is a public non-profit art and design school in Richmond, Virginia. One of many degree-offering schools at VCU, the School of the Arts comprises 18 bachelor's degree programs and six master's degree programs. Its satellite campus in Doha, Qatar, VCUarts Qatar, offers five bachelor's degrees and one master's degree. It was the first off-site campus to open in Education City by an American university.

Mary Eugenia Kapp was an American chemist.

References

37°32′53″N77°27′12″W / 37.5481°N 77.4533°W / 37.5481; -77.4533

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.