Delaware State University history

DSU enjoys a long history as one of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Founded in 1891 as the State College for Colored Students, DSU is proud of our heritage as one of the country’s first land-grant educational institutions.

The campus opened in 1892 and initially did not offer degrees but instead allowed students to study five majors leading to a baccalaureate degree.

The college graduated its first class of degree candidates in May 1898.

Six boarder girls and fifteen day-girls, together with the new boys, joined the 175 (approximately) boys already in the College in September 1911.

Prior to securing a new charter in 1918, the school held a highly successful fundraising campaign in support of the change to come, raising from Methodists in the conference $260,000 – about $60,000 above its stated goal.

The foundation stone was laid by Sir James Mitchell, Premier of Western Australia, on 11 November 1922.

5th year boys of the first Biology class, in 1923.

Baccalaureate programs were first offered in 1932.

Efforts to reopen the school in 1933 and subsequent years were unsuccessful, leaving Wesley closed for 10 years.

A classroom was equipped in 1948 with black-out and a filmstrip projector for the teaching of geography and history.

By the fall of 1954, the enrollment had grown to 201 students, and nearby properties had been purchased for Wesley use.

The progress at the College prompted its Board of Trustees to seek substantial financial support – $1.5 million over three years – from the Methodist Church to make improvements to the campus detailed in a 1955 report to the denomination.

Since 1957, the university has grown in stature as a center for teaching, research, and public service.

In 1959 the College obtained from the Chief Herald an official grant of arms for the first time, which replaced the former school crest.

At the end of that decade, Doctor Slaybaugh announced his retirement as president effective June 30, 1960.

The block was formally opened in 1961 by Prof.

The Governors purchased it in March 1964 for £55,000.

On Founders’ Day, 1st October, 1967, an open air Service was conducted on the building site, during which an outcrop of granite rock which later would bear a plaque was unveiled by the Chairman of the Board to mark the commencement of the new buildings.

*In 1968, the Methodist Church joined with the United Brethren Church to become the denomination of the United Methodist Church.

The official opening and dedication of the new buildings at Ludford Park took place at 3.00 pm on Saturday, 7th June, 1969.

An explanation point to that physical infrastructure expansion was the razing of the “Old Main” building to make way for the construction of a $3.5 million Henry Belin du Pont College Center – completed in October 1974, shortly before Doctor Parker’s year-end retirement.

After Doctor Parker’s 15-year tenure ended, the Board of Trustees selected Doctor William W. Hassler, a clergyman of the United Methodist Church* and a former president of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, to succeed Doctor Parker in January 1975.

During the fall of 1976, the College began offering a curriculum leading to a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and enrolled a dozen students into their junior year of the program.

The first seven baccalaureate graduates received their diplomas in 1978.

Since 1997, Wesley experienced the best five years of fundraising ever by securing 10 of the top 12 gifts in its history.

Doctor Miller’s tenure – which result in significant growth in enrollment, academics and physical infrastructure – came to an end in October 2007, when he resigned to become the president of Bethany College in West Virginia.

The Delaware State Hornets compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Division I. In 2009, US News and World Report ranked the school as number 17 under the “Best Historically Black College and University” category.

At one point in 2019, had the state not given Wesley $3 million, students would have lost access to federal financial aid and salaries would have been at risk.