Philander Smith University (previously Philander Smith College) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

historically black college 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 serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. It is affiliated with the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

and is a founding member of the

United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...

(UNCF). Philander Smith College is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

History

Philander Smith College was officially founded in 1877 under the name of Walden Seminary to provide educational opportunities for emancipated slaves west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. In 1882 the school was renamed Philander Smith College in honor of the financial contributions of Adeline Smith, widow of

Philander Smith Philander Smith (November 23, 1809 – February 24, 1882) was an American real estate agent and philanthropist. Philander Smith University is his namesake. Biography Philander Smith was the son of David Smith, whose 1801 sawmill in upstate ...

. It was chartered as a four-year college in 1883 and conferred its first bachelor's degree in 1888. In 1933, it merged the assets of the George R. Smith College in

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 ...

, which burned down in 1925. In 1943, Philander Smith was accredited by the

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It ...

. During the Civil Rights Movement, Philander Smith College was a pioneer in activism: many of its students engaged in

nonviolent resistance Nonviolent resistance, or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, construct ...

against

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of human ...

laws or customs (such as sitting in at " whites-only" lunch counters). On August 1, 2023, the college announced the addition of its first ever master's degree program and the change of its name from Philander Smith College to Philander Smith University.

Rankings and education conservancy

Walter Kimbrough Walter Kimbrough (born ) is an American academic administrator who served as the 7th president of Dillard University from 2012 to 2022. Kimbrough was previously the president of Philander Smith College from 2004 to 2012. Early life and education ...

, former president of Philander Smith College, joined the

Education Conservancy The Education Conservancy is an American educational non-profit organization headed by director Lloyd Thacker. It describes its goal as being "committed to improving college admission processes for students, colleges and high schools." Criticism ...

in criticizing the annual '' U.S. News & World Report'' college rankings; he signed a letter circulating among college presidents that asks them to refrain from participating in the peer assessment portion of the survey.

Campus

The school campus is located in central Little Rock.

Interstate 630 Interstate 630 (I-630) in Arkansas is an east–west connector within Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. It is also known as the Wilbur D. Mills Freeway and starts at Interstate 430, I-430 and Shackleford Road as a continuation of Chena ...

(the Mills Freeway) was constructed just north of the campus, which is bounded by 10th and 14th streets to the north and south, and Gaines and Chester streets to the east and west. The core of the campus was originally built for Little Rock Junior College (now the University of Arkansas at Little Rock), and a two-block section of it is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. One of its centerpieces is the former U.M. Rose School building, now the Cox Administration Building, designed by the noted Arkansas architect

John Parks Almand John Parks Almand (May 8, 1885 – March 24, 1969) was an American architect who practiced in Arkansas from 1912 to 1962. Among other works, he designed the Art Deco Hot Springs Medical Arts Building, which was the tallest building in Arkansas f ...

in 1915, when he was working for Charles L. Thompson. The campus also includes the "Old Gym", a gymnasium built by the WPA during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

; and a former barracks building of the Camp Robinson Air Force Base, which was moved here in 1948.

Athletics

The Philander Smith athletic teams are called the Panthers. The college is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

HBCU Athletic Conference The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC), formerly known as the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, is a List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference made up entirely of historically black colleges and unive ...

(HBCUAC), formerly the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC), since the 2011–12 academic year. The Panthers previously competed as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) from 2009–10 to 2010–11. Philander Smith competes in ten intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, baseball, cross country and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading.

Accomplishments

The 2012–13 Philander Smith men's basketball team made history by bringing home their first GCAC conference tournament title. On February 21, 1989, the Philander Smith women's basketball team gained a 92–89 victory over

Rust College Rust College is a private historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Founded in 1866, it is the second-oldest private college in the state. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is one of ten historically black colleges ...

of Holly Springs, Mississippi, on their court, ending the longest home-court winning streak in NCAA Division III women's basketball history.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Coord, 34.73686, -92.28249, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-AR, display=title 1877 establishments in Arkansas Colonial Revival architecture in Arkansas Universities and colleges established in 1877 Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas Historically black universities and colleges in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Little Rock, Arkansas Private universities and colleges in Arkansas Universities and colleges in Little Rock, Arkansas