Spelman College history

In 1882 the two women returned to Massachusetts to bid for more money and were introduced to wealthy Northern Baptist businessman John D. Rockefeller at a church conference in Ohio.

In 1883 the school moved into what were former Union army officer barracks, which had been purchased by the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS). The school had grown to 293 students with over thirty boarders.

A printing press was purchased as a result of another gift from the Slater Fund, and the Spelman Messenger began publication in March 1885.

The first six high school graduates of Spelman Seminary completed their work in 1886.

In 1887, Spelman awarded its first diplomas at this level.

In 1888, Henry L. Morehouse, the namesake of Spelman’s “brother” school across the street, was named the first president of the Board of Trustees.

Two women received the school’s first baccalaureate degrees in 1901.

The girls' education was comparable to the education boys were receiving at nearby Atlanta Baptist Seminary, which later became Atlanta Baptist College and (in 1913) Morehouse College.

Two of the school’s founders, Harriet Giles and Sophia Packard, believed that former slaves lacked correct work habits, so they demanded that Spelman students rise at four thirty each morning to wash and iron their clothes, a practice that continued into the 1920s.

Because Atlanta would not open a black public high school until 1924, the first generation of Spelman students enrolled in courses equivalent to high school instruction.

In 1927, one of the most important buildings on campus, Sisters Chapel, was dedicated.

The elementary school was finally abolished in 1928, as was the nurses training department.

Shortly thereafter, Spelman entered into an "agreement of affiliation" with nearby Morehouse College and Atlanta University by chartering the Atlanta University Center in 1929.

In 1930 the Spelman Nursery School was created as a training center for mothers and a practice arena for students who planned careers in education and child development.

Spelman celebrated its 50th anniversary in April 1931.

Bernice Johnson Reagon, née Bernice Johnson, (born October 4, 1942, Albany, Georgia, United States), African American musician and historian whose work ranged from African spirituals to militant civil rights anthems.

IN 1947, Spelman joined the list of "approved institutions" of the Association of American Universities.

In 1953, Florence Read retired, and Albert E. Manley became the first black and first male president of college.

The contract of affiliation was expanded in 1957 to include other Atlanta area colleges, and the school became part of the Atlanta University Center.

In 1959 she entered Albany State College, where she studied music and first became involved in political activities.

Her projects there included a three-record collection called Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs, 1960–66 and the Wade in the Water series, a long-term project focusing on the history of African American sacred song and worship traditions.

In 1961 a non-Western Studies program (in cooperation with Morehouse College) was initiated with the help of a grant from the Ford Foundation.

In 1962, the first Spelman students were arrested for participating in sit-ins in the Atlanta community.

In 1973 she formed the singing group Sweet Honey In The Rock, which consisted variously of four to six women, including Reagon, performing a cappella music, ranging from traditional folk, African chant, field hollers, and Baptist hymns to blues, jazz, and rap music.

Stewart retired in 1986, and the following year, Johnnetta Betsch Cole became the first Black female president of Spelman College.

In 1989 Reagon received a MacArthur Foundation award.

In 1996 Bill and Camille Cosby donated $20 million (the single largest gift in the institution’s history) to build the Camille O. Hanks Cosby Academic Center.

In 1997, Audrey Forbes Manley (class of ’55) became the first alumna elected president of the college.

Doctor Bernice Johnson Reagon, C'70, cultural historian and founder of legendary a cappella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock, named 2002 Cosby Professor in the Fine Arts and Doctor Shelia Walker, nationally known anthropologist and scholar named 2002 Cosby Professor in the Humanities

Beverly Daniel Tatum was inaugurated as the college's ninth president in 2003.

Reagon retired from the group in 2004.

In 2011, First Lady Michelle Obama served as the keynote commencement speaker.

In 2012, Oprah Winfrey served as the keynote commencement speaker.

In July 2015, the remainder of the funds were returned and an endowed professorship named for the Cosby couple discontinued as allegations of sexual assault by Bill Cosby grew more prominent.

In 2018, Spelman received $30 million from Spelman trustee Ronda Stryker for the construction of a new state-of-the-art building on campus.

In June 2020, philanthropists Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin donated $40 million to Spelman College to be used as scholarship funds for students enrolled at Spelman.