As Shaw University celebrates 150 years, a look back
Shaw University – the first historically black university in the South – will celebrate its 150th anniversary Friday with a series of events.
U.S. Rep. Alma Adams will be the keynote speaker for Shaw’s Founder’s Day convocation at 11 a.m. in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at 2 E. South St.
“Shaw is often called ‘the mother of African-American colleges in North Carolina,’ so who better to speak at our Founder’s Day convocation in our 150th year than a mother, HBCU alumna and education advocate like Rep. Alma Adams?” Shaw President Tashni Dubroy said in a statement. Adams is a graduate of N.C A&T State University in Greensboro.
On Friday night, Shaw will mark the anniversary with a black-tie gala at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh. The event will be hosted by Shaw alumna and radio personality K. Foxx. It also will feature a keynote address from author and entrepreneur Stedman Graham.
The gala evening of food, live entertainment, a video presentation and an auction starts at 7 p.m. It’s sold out, but donations to the 150th Anniversary Student Scholarship are still being accepted at shawu.edu/150/Give/.
Here is a time line of key events in Shaw University’s history.
Dec. 1, 1865 – Shaw University is founded by Dr. Henry Martin Tupper. A two-story structure at Blount and Cabarrus streets is called the Raleigh Institute.
March 1, 1866 – The first class of women is enrolled.
1870 – The American Baptist Home Mission Society and the Freedman’s Bureau began to provide support, and the Barringer property on South Street is purchased.
1873 – Estey Hall, a female residence hall, is constructed.
1875 – The school, which has been renamed Shaw Collegiate Institute in honor of Elijah Shaw, is chartered and incorporated under the name Shaw University.
1878 – The first college class graduates.
1885 – Leonard Medical Hospital is built.
1886 – The first class of medical doctors graduates.
1888 – The law school is founded – the first in the South for black students.
1890 – The first law degree is awarded.
1893 – The first pharmacy degree is awarded.
1895 – The first Missionary training class graduates.
1902 – A central hot-water heating plant given by J.D Rockefeller furnishes heat to all the buildings expect Tupper Hall.
1909 – The Teacher Education Department is formed.
1914 – The law school closes.
1918 – The pharmacy school closes.
1923 – Becomes the first black college in the state to receive an A rating by the North Carolina Board of Education.
1924 – The alumni athletic field is dedicated. Shaw Journal, the student newspaper, begins publication.
1927 – Greek fraternity chapter of Omega Psi Phi is established.
1931 – The university elects its first black president, Dr. William Stuart Nelson.
1933 – The theological department becomes a theological seminary.
1934 – Y.W.C.A sponsors the first “Miss Shaw” contest.
1936 – Greek sorority Zeta Phi Beta and fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha are established.
1936 – Shaw is admitted to an approved list of schools under the Board of Education of Northern Baptist Convention.
1948 – University chapel is built.
1949 – West Campus (the old Rex Hospital building) is purchased.
1960 – A conference led by Ella Baker results in the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
February 1960 – SNCC organizes a “sit-in” protest at Raleigh’s F.W. Woolworth. Students from Shaw University and St. Augustine’s College are later arrested on trespassing charges at Cameron Village in Raleigh, after refusing a request to leave by an official with the shopping center.
1963 – James E. Cheek is appointed president of Shaw. He is the first alumnus to head the school.
1968 – The university’s 40-acre farm on Rock Quarry Road in Raleigh is purchased.
1976 – The seminary becomes an independent entity.
Aug. 18, 1987 – Talbert O. Shaw is named the university’s 12th president at a time when a lack of money threatens to close the school’s doors. At Shaw’s retirement in 2003, the school has an endowment of more than $15 million and several new and renovated buildings throughout its campus.
1995 – The university reports to the U.S. Dept. of Defense the results of an investigation into why no black World War II veterans had been awarded the Medal of Honor. As a result, President Bill Clinton awards medals to seven of 10 recommended soldiers in 1997.
1996 – The largest single building project in the school’s history is christened the Talbert O. Shaw Living Learning Center.
2006 – The university and City of Raleigh join to create a Citizens’ Participation and Leadership Institute.
2007 – Dual degree programs in engineering, pharmacology and dentistry are established with N.C. State University and N.C. A&T University.
May 13, 2009 – President Clarence Newsome steps down, leaving the university with $20 million in debt.
June 2009 – Dorothy Cowser Yancy is named interim president, becoming the university’s first female president.
Sept. 9, 2010 – Irma McClaurin is named Shaw’s 15th president.
April 16, 2011 – A tornado hits the campus, causing severe damage to the university’s student center and residence halls.
Aug. 6, 2011 – The university reopens after the tornado.
Aug. 15, 2011 – Dorothy C. Yancy returns as president.
March 24, 2012 – The Lady Bears basketball team wins its first NCAA Division II title.
Jan. 1, 2014 – Gaddis Faulcon becomes acting president following Yancy’s retirement.
June 2015 – Tashni Dubroy becomes the 17th president of Shaw University.
Compiled by staff writer Teresa Leonard
Sources: Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Encyclopedia By F. Erik Brooks, Glenn L. Starks, shawu.edu/Archives/timeline.htm, shawu.edu/150/History, N&O Archives
This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 6:22 PM with the headline "As Shaw University celebrates 150 years, a look back."