Rust 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 ...

Holly Springs, Mississippi Holly Springs is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Mississippi, Marshall County, Mississippi, United States, near the border with Tennessee to the north. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 6,96 ...

. Founded in 1866, it is the second-oldest private college in the state. 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 ...

, it is one of ten historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) founded before 1868 that are still operating.

History

One of the oldest colleges for

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Rust was founded on November 24, 1866, by Northern missionaries with a group called the

Freedman's Aid Society The Freedmen's Aid Society was founded in 1859 during the American Civil War by the American Missionary Association (AMA), a group supported chiefly by the Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the North. It organized a supply of ...

of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

. In 1870, the college was chartered as Shaw University in 1870, honoring the Reverend S. O. Shaw, who made a gift of $10,000 to the institution which, adjusted for inflation, is the equivalent of approximately $,000 in . In 1892, to avoid confusion with

Shaw University Shaw University is a private historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in the Southern United States. The school had its origin in the fo ...

in Raleigh, North Carolina, the institution changed its name to Rust University—a tribute to Rev. Richard S. Rust of

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, a preacher, abolitionist, and the secretary of the

Freedmen's Aid Society The Freedmen's Aid Society was founded in 1859 during the American Civil War by the American Missionary Association (AMA), a group supported chiefly by the Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the North. It organized a supply of ...

, who helped found the college. In 1915, the institution assumed the name Rust College. Rust College is the oldest of the 11

historically black colleges and universities 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 ...

associated with The United Methodist Church, the second oldest private college in Mississippi. The college welcomed their new President

Ivy Taylor Ivy Ruth Taylor (born June 17, 1970) is the former Mayor of San Antonio, Texas from 2014 through 2017, and the former president of Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi from 2017 through 2023. The former politician and urban planner was a ...

on June 1, 2020.

Academics

Rust College maintains five divisions or departments of study: Division of Education, Division of Humanities, Division of Science and Mathematics, Division of Social Sciences, and the Division of Business. Degree programs are offered in 16 areas of study. Upon completion of their studies at Rust, students can receive associates or

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

degrees. Rust College operates on what is called a module system, which is an 8-week semester class system that allows the college to constantly enroll a steady stream of transfer students every 8 weeks.

Campus

Rust College occupies approximately . Some buildings on campus were erected in the mid-1800s, such as the alumni and public relations center. Others were recently built, such as the Hamilton Science Center, a three-story addition to the McDonald Science Building. In 2008, Rust College acquired the campus of the former Mississippi Industrial College, located adjacent to the campus. In 2011, the college acquired Airliewood, an antebellum former slave plantation estate located near Rust College campus. Built in 1858, Airliewood served as living quarters for

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

during the Civil War, and currently serves as the official residence of the college president. There are five gender-segregated dorms, with about 900 spaces. Two historic markers honoring the Council of Federated Organizations and those involved in the 1964 Freedom Summer Project in Holly Springs were unveiled on campus in 2014.

Students

About 70% of students are in a traditional age range of 18 to 21, and 10% are age 25 or older. About 35% of students are from Mississippi, 30% from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and 15% from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Athletics

The Rust athletic teams are called the Bearcats. 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 2018–19 academic year, after spending as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) during the 2017–18 school year when they joined the NAIA. The Bearcats previously competed in the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

ranks as an NCAA D-III Independent until after the 2016–17 school year; and in the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black col ...

(SIAC) from 1978–79 to 1987–88, which is currently an

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

athletic conference. For certain single sports, the Rust Bearcats softball team competed in the defunct D-III Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) as an affiliate member from 2013–14 to 2014–15. Rust competes in 11 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, tennis and track & field (outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, softball, tennis, track & field (outdoor) and volleyball.

Accomplishments

In 1984, the women's basketball team won their first

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

with a 51-49 win over

Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown College (informally Etown) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. History Founding and early years Elizabethtown College was founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren in response to an initiative by ...

Notable alumni

* Larry Anderson, basketball coach for MIT *

Lucie Campbell Lucie Eddie Campbell (born Lucie Eddie Campbell-Williams; April 30, 1885 – January 3, 1963) was an American composer and director of gospel music. She was also an educator and advocate for social justice. She consistently innovated in the c ...

(1885–1963), composer, hymnwriter *

Alvin Childress Alvin Childress (September 15, 1907 – April 19, 1986) was an American actor, who is best known for playing the cabdriver Amos Jones in the 1950s television comedy series ''Amos 'n' Andy''. Biography Alvin Childress was born in Meridian, Missis ...

(1907–1986), actor *

Melerson Guy Dunham Melerson Guy Dunham (May 6, 1904 – December 1985) was an American educator and activist from the state of Mississippi. She put herself through college and graduate school working in the fields and as a domestic worker. Mississippi Minister Indu ...

(1904–1985), educator, civil and women's right activist, historian * Ruby Elzy (1908–1943), operatic soprano * Amos T. Hall (1896–1971), lawyer, judge, and civil rights leader * Perry Wilbon Howard (1877–1961), attorney, assistant U.S. attorney general, Mississippi Republican chairman *

Leslie B. McLemore Leslie-Burl McLemore (born August 17, 1940) is an American civil rights activist and political leader from Walls, Mississippi. He served as interim mayor of Jackson following the death of Frank Melton on May 7, 2009 until the inauguration of re-e ...

(born 1940), civil rights activist, political scientist, interim mayor of

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

* Godwin Maduka MD and founder of Las Vegas Pain Institute and Medical Center * Helen Caldwell Day Riley (1926-?), book author and hospitality house founder in the Catholic Worker tradition * Alexander Preston Shaw (1879–1966), Methodist bishop *

Anita Ward Anita Ward (born December 20, 1956) (sources differ) is an American singer and musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Beginning her professional music career in the late 1970s, Ward is best known for her 1979 million-selling chart-topper R&B/Disco hi ...

(born 1957), disco singer *

Ida B. Wells Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, sociologist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advance ...

(1862–1931), newspaper editor, activist, cofounder of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

* Willie Mitchell (1928–2010), record executive, musician, producer * Susie Revels Cayton (1870–1943), activist, journalist, editor, writer

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control Historically black universities and colleges in the United States Liberal arts colleges in Mississippi Universities and colleges established in 1866 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Marshall County, Mississippi Buildings and structures in Holly Springs, Mississippi 1866 establishments in Mississippi Private universities and colleges in Mississippi