Dillard University

Dillard University

Former names	Straight University,Straight College, New Orleans University
Motto	Ex Fide, Fortis
Motto in English	"Strong Through Faith" (lit. "Out of faith, strong")
Type	Private, HBCU
Established	1869
Affiliation	United Church of Christ United Methodist Church UNCF
Endowment	$58 million [1]
President	Dr.Walter M. Kimbrough
Vice-president	Marc A. Barnes (Institutional Advancement)
Provost	Dr. Yolanda Williams-Page
Students	1,250
Location	2601 Gentilly Blvd New Orleans, Louisiana 70122 29°59′42″N 90°03′55″W / 29.99500°N 90.06528°W / 29.99500; -90.06528Coordinates: 29°59′42″N 90°03′55″W / 29.99500°N 90.06528°W / 29.99500; -90.06528
Campus	Urban
Student/Faculty Ratio	9:1
Colors	Royal Blue and White
Athletics	NAIA Division I – GCAC
Nickname	Bleu Devils / Lady Bleu Devils
Website	www.dillard.edu

Dillard University is a private, historically black liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded in 1930 incorporating earlier institutions that went back to 1869, it is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.

The campus is near Gentilly Boulevard and the London Avenue Canal, established in the 1930s.

History

Ancestor institutions: 1869–1930

The history of Dillard University dates back to 1869 and its founding predecessor institutions--Straight University (later to be renamed Straight College) and Union Normal School (which was to become New Orleans University).

Straight University

Responding to the post-Civil War need to educate newly freed African Americans in New Orleans, Louisiana and the surrounding region, the American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church founded Straight University on June 12, 1868.

Straight University also offered professional training, including a law department from 1874 to 1886, and its graduates participated in local and national Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction era civil rights struggles.

Straight University was renamed Straight College in 1915.

Union Normal School/New Orleans University

The Union Normal School was established by the Freedman's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church on July 8, also in 1868.

In addition to Straight University, the AMA helped found several other historically black colleges and universities, such as Clark Atlanta University, Fisk University, Hampton University, Howard University (with Freedmen's Bureau), Huston-Tillotson University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Talladega College, and Tougaloo College. Straight University and Union Normal School later became Straight College and New Orleans University, respectively. Both schools offered elementary level education, but quickly enlarged curriculum to include secondary, collegiate, and professional level instruction.

New Orleans University operated a secondary school--Gilbert Academy. By the 1890s, the university offered professional medical training. It included a school of pharmacy, the Flint Medical College, and the Sarah Goodridge Hospital and Nurse Training School. After the medical college was ended in 1911, the Flint Goodridge Hospital emerged and continued nurse training.

"A Great Negro University in New Orleans": 1930–1935

University Presidents

Rev. Will W. Alexander	1935–1936
William Stuart Nelson	1936–1940
Albert Walter Dent	1941–1969
Broadus Nathaniel Butler	1969–1973
Myron Wicke	1973–1974
Samuel DuBois Cook	1974–1997
Michael Lucius Lomax	1997–2004
Bettye Parker Smith	2004–2005
Marvalene Hughes	2005–2011
James E. Lyons, Sr.	2011-2012
Walter M. Kimbrough	2012–Present

Local Black and White leaders felt there was a need for a larger, more notable African American institution of higher learning to emerge within New Orleans and the greater South. Due to economic hardships and rounds of negotiations between the two institutions, Straight College and New Orleans University chartered Dillard University on June 6, 1930.^[2] Named after James H. Dillard,^[3] the new university was created to "... offer a traditional liberal arts curriculum—rather than nonprofessional, vocational training" and emphasize a close engagement with the Black community through "various education extension programs, societies, and clubs."^[4]

Despite the hope of this new charter, the building of Dillard University was tempered by its context of Jim Crow America. Many local Whites took concern with the possibility of a Black president presiding over White faculty members. Similarly, the increased numbers of African American bus riders in the Gentilly area disturbed some White sensibilities. As an influential and diplomatic member of Dillard's board of trustees, Edgar B. Stern suggested Will W. Alexander as a suitable compromise. Will W. Alexander, a white Southern preacher, was Dillard's first acting president (1935–1936), whose experience as the director of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation proved valuable. Dillard University opened its doors in the fall of 1935, and was able to attract a number of prominent scholars, such as Horace Mann Bond, psychology and education; Frederick Douglass Hall, music; Lawrence D. Reddick, history; and St. Clair Drake, sociology and anthropology.

Hurricane Katrina

In August 2005, the campus, not far from the lower levee breach of the London Avenue Canal, suffered extensive flood damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Nelson Hall was destroyed by a fire. A bus fire also destroyed belongings of 37 students who were in the process of being evacuated.^[5][6]

In spring 2006, the students of Dillard University took their normal classes at The New Orleans World Trade Center and The New Orleans Hilton Riverside Hotel. As is tradition, Dillard held graduation on the Rosa Freeman Keller Avenue of the Oaks in July 2006. Students returned to campus in September 2006.

2016 senatorial debate

In November 2016, the university hosted a debate with senatorial candidates, including David Duke.^[7][8] The event was met with opposition;^[8] six protesters were arrested.^[7]

Academics

University rankings
Liberal arts colleges
U.S. News & World Report[9]	RNP
Washington Monthly[10]	83

In 2003, musician Ray Charles added a provision in his will to endow a $1 million professorship of African-American culinary history at Dillard. It is the first such position in the country.^[11]

Degrees and majors

Dillard University offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees in over 35 majors. The diverse major, minor, and course offerings create an opportunities for a comprehensive, global education. These majors are organized within four academic colleges, and further subdivided by departments:

• College of Arts and Sciences
• College of Business
• College of General Studies

Undergraduate research

In preparation for graduate and professional schools, undergraduates are encouraged to work closely with a faculty member to produce a high quality undergraduate research projects. The university is a member of the Council of Undergraduate Research and the National Council of Undergraduate Research. Most departments offer courses in methodology, and the university's Office of Undergraduate Research organizes additional workshops on writing proposals, analyzing data, and using human participants. Students can participate in A Katrina Recovery Initiative (AKRI), Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LAMP), and the Undergraduate Research & Creative Work Competition. The university also produces the Dillard University Journal of Undergraduate Research (DUJOUR), which publishes the findings and articles of finished undergraduate research projects.

Institute of Jazz Culture (IOJC)

Nurtured in the "Birthplace of Jazz," Dillard University recognized the unique possibilities that is provided by this context. The Institute of Jazz Culture was established in 2002 by founding director, Irvin Mayfield at the intersection of community, jazz and education. Under the current leadership of Edward Anderson, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of the IOJC, the Institute is producing curriculum and programming on the collegiate and the secondary levels. It emphasizes the development of talent and promotes professional opportunities. Preservation, promotion and celebration through documentation, education, and performance of jazz culture are the central goals.

Athletics

Dillard University teams are known as the Bleu Devils. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), competing in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC). Men's sports include basketball, cross country and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, track & field and volleyball.

Campus

Dillard University's campus is located on 55 acres (22.3 ha) in the suburban-like Gentilly neighborhood of the New Orleans 7th Ward district. The campus is anchored by Neoclassical architecture and live oak trees. The double tree-lined "Avenue of the Oaks" forms the focal point of the gated campus.

Academic buildings

DUICEF (Dillard University International Center for Economic Freedom) was dedicated in 2004. It houses the offices of the Division of Education & Psychology and the Division of Social Sciences, and computer and language laboratories.

Howard House, built in 1936, was originally a guest house, but currently is home to the business program. The building was named in honor of New Orleans native Alvin Pike Howard (1889–1937), successful businessman, former professor of Tulane University and former director of Hibernia National Bank; he is a noteworthy contributor to the development of Dillard University.

The Professional Schools Building is the newest academic building on campus. It was dedicated in 2010. The building is home to academic and research programs for the College of Business, School of Nursing, School of Public Health, and the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. ^[12]

Rosenwald Hall is a hall at Dillard University. Dillard's first permanent building was originally the campus library. It was built in May 1934. The building is named in honor of philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, to whom the building was dedicated in June 1948. This building houses the university's administrative offices and was under construction due to damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It will be fully operational in the fall 2008.

Samuel DuBois Cook Fine Arts and Communications Center at Dillard University, New Orleans, was built in 1993. The building is named in honor of Dillard University's sixth president, Dr. Samuel DuBois Cook. With his tenure came the start of the modernization of Dillard University's infrastructure. In the building are the Fine Arts Gallery and studios, state-of-the-art television and recording studios, the Music Department, the Drama Department and a theater, and a radio station.

Stern Hall is a hall at Dillard University. Dillard's science building was built in 1952. It is named in honor of Edgar Bloom Stern, a prominent financier and philanthropist of New Orleans. The building was renovated in 1952 and again in 1968. In the building are the Division of Nursing, Division of Natural Sciences, two computer labs, Biology, Chemistry and Physics labs as well as a learning center sponsored by the Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LAMP) program.

Library

Will W. Alexander Library is Dillard University's library. It was built in 1961. The library was dedicated in honor of the first acting president of Dillard University, the Rev. Will W. Alexander on October 22, 1961. The library houses an extensive collection of books, journals, microform and newspapers, as well as such historical documents as the papers of the American Missionary Association of the United Church of Christ. The library was damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and reopened as a state-of-the-art facility in April 2008.

Chapel

Lawless Memorial Chapel is Dillard University's chapel. It was built in 1955. Chapel was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alfred Lawless Jr. and his son Theodore K. Lawless M.D. on October 23, 1955. Now named Lawless Assembly Hall, it is the only building on Dillard's campus that did not suffer flood damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

On-campus housing

Camphor Hall is a hall at Dillard University, New Orleans. It was built in 1947. This female dormitory was originally a male dormitory. The building was named in honor of a Louisiana native, educator and missionary, Bishop Alexander Priestly Camphor.

Hartzell Hall is a dormitory at Dillard University. It was built in 1935. Hartzell is named in honor of Joseph Crane Hartzell, a missionary bishop for the Methodist Episcopal Church. The building was originally a junior and senior female dormitory, and re-opened in the fall of 2013.

Nelson Complex consisted of three modular buildings that served as undergraduate housing for students. Named after William Nelson, the first African American president of the university, it was destroyed by fire during Hurricane Katrina.

Straight Hall is a dormitory at Dillard University. It was built in 1936 and renovated in 1957, Straight Hall was originally a female dormitory in its earliest days. The building is named in honor of Seymour Straight, president of the Board of Trustees of Straight College, which opened in 1869 and later in 1930 merged with New Orleans University to form Dillard University. Re-opened in the spring of 2013.

Williams Hall is a female dormitory building located to the left of Kearny hall. It was dedicated in honor of noted New Orleanian educator and philanthropist Fannie C. Williams (1882–1980) in June 1946. The building was renovated in 2000 and became a co-ed dormitory in 2014.

Gentilly Gardens

Athletic buildings

Dent Hall at Dillard University, New Orleans, is the university's gymnasium. It was named in honor of Dr. Albert W. Dent, the university's third president. It was built in 1969 at the end of his service. Dent Hall is the home of the Bleu Devils and the Lady Bleu Devils basketball teams (Athletics Department). In this building are The Division of Campus Life, Career Services, Student Development, Student Government Association, the Daniel C. Thompson/Samuel Dubois Cook Honors Program, offices, classrooms, computer labs, a dance studio, a weight center and a newly renovated swimming pool.

Henson Hall is Dillard University's old gymnasium, which was built in 1950 and renovated in 1990. The building is named in honor of an explorer and co-discoverer of the North Pole, Matthew Alexander Henson. He was the first human of African descent to reach the North Pole. The university's bookstore and temporary library are housed in Henson Hall due to space constraints following Hurricane Katrina.

Student center

Kearny Hall is the student center at Dillard University. It was built in 1935 and renovated in 1966 and 1996. This building is named in honor of New Orleanian Warren Kearny, Trustee of Dillard University. Kearny Hall is located at the center of the campus. In the building are a lounge area, post office, cafeteria, food service offices, as well as the Student Government Association office.

President's house

Built in 1936, the president's residence has been renovated three times: 1964, 1972 and 1997. It has been home to six of the seven presidents of Dillard University. It now serves as the Alumni House.

List of Dillard people

Alumni

The following notable individuals are alumni of Dillard University, Straight University, and New Orleans University:

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)}
James W. Ames	1882	Founder, Dunbar Hospital , the first black hospital in Detroit, MI
William Banks	1963	Professor of African-American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley
Harold Battiste, Jr.	1952	Accomplished jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger; musical director for Sonny & Cher, Dr. John and many others; arranger for Sam Cooke
Dr. Samuel L. Biggers, Jr.	1956	Chief of Neurosurgery, King/Drew Medical Center, Los Angeles
John W. E. Bowen, Sr.	1878	among first African Americans to receive a PhD
Jericho Brown	1998	Award winning Poet whose poems have appeared in The Iowa Review, jubilat, New England Review, Oxford American.
Cora Nelms Charles	1958	Nurse, Lead grant writer in developing the La. Genetics Disorder Div of Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospital ( formerly the Dept of Health and Human Services
Sherman Copelin	1965	Member, Louisiana House of Representatives
Dr. Karen Drake	1979	Perinatologist, Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Des Moines, Iowa; played a key role in the delivery of the Iowa septuplets – November 19, 1997
Joseph N. Gayles, Jr.	1958	former President of Talladega College; former Morehouse School of Medicine Vice President for Development
Sandra A. Harris-Hooker	1974	Associate Dean of Research at Morehouse School of Medicine
Francis C. Henderson	1958	Professor of Medicine and Special Assistant to the Director of the Jackson Heart Study – Jackson, Mississippi
Patrick O. Jefferson	1990	member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 11; lawyer from Arcadia	[13]
Michael D. Jones	1982	Partner, Kirkland & Ellis; Georgetown Law Center Alumni of the Year Award (2010)
Warren A. Jones	1971	Distinguished Professor of Health Policy; Executive Director, Institute for Geographic Minority Health and Minority Disparities in the Delta Region, University of Mississippi Medical Center; the first African American elected President of the American Academy of Family Physicians; and a member of the Dillard University Board of Trustees
Harold Lundy, Sr.	1971	fourth President of Grambling State University
Larry Lundy	1972	President of Lundy Enterprises, LLC (a Black Enterprise Top 100 Company)
Glenda Goodly McNeal	1982	Senior Vice President, American Express Company and a member of the Dillard University Board of Trustees
Ellis M. Marsalis, Jr.	1955	accomplished jazz pianist and music educator; father of jazz artists: Branford, Wynton, Jason and Delfeayo; retired Director of Jazz Studies, University of New Orleans
Garrett Morris	1958	comedian/actor (Saturday Night Live, The Jamie Foxx Show)
Khalid Abdul Muhammad	1970	National Spokesman, Nation of Islam
Alice Dunbar Nelson	1892	Women's rights activist and wife of Paul Lawrence Dunbar
Alfred Lloyd Norris	1960	Bishop, United Methodist Church
Revius Ortique, Jr	1947	the first African American to serve on the Louisiana State Supreme Court (now retired); a member of the Dillard University Board of Trustees
Brenda Marie Osbey	1978	Poet Laureate for Louisiana
Lisa Frazier-Page	1984	Staff writer, Washington Post
Louis Pendleton		Dentist, businessman, and civic leader in Shreveport, Louisiana, who organized the civil rights movement in his city through the formation of the interest group known as "Blacks United for Lasting Leadership", which successfully lobbied for racial justice
P.B.S. Pinchback	1885	First African-American Governor in the United States; 24th Governor of Louisiana
Renée Gill Pratt		local New Orleans politician. She was also Director of the Center for Student Retention and Success in Southern University at New Orleans.
Beah Richards	1948	actress of stage, screen and television. She was a poet, playwright and author
Joyce M. Roche	1970	President & CEO of Girls, Inc.; former President and Chief Operating Officer of Carson, Inc.; the first female chairperson of the Dillard University Board of Trustees
John Ruffin	1965	the first associate director for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health
Ruth J. Simmons	1967	the first African-American President of an Ivy League University (18th President of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island) and the first African-American President of a "Seven Sisters" school (ninth President of Smith College)
Mitchell W. Spellman	1940	Founding Dean of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science; Professor of Surgery Emeritus of Harvard Medical School; director, Academic Alliances and International Exchange Programs at Harvard Medical International
Rodrick A. Stevenson	1981	Director of the Organ Transplant Department, Meharry Medical College
Carl E. Stewart	1971	Judge, U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana
William W. Sutton	1953	fourth President of Mississippi Valley State University
Dwayne Thomas	1980	CEO, Medical Center of Louisiana, New Orleans
Veronica White		Former Director of Sanitation for the City of New Orleans
Jimmy Womack	1976	minister and a Member of the Michigan House of Representatives, 7th district

Honorary degree recipients

The following notable individuals are honorary alumni of Dillard University:

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Benjamin E. Mays	1975	Doctor of Humane Letters
Albert W. Dent	1977	Doctor of Humane Letters
Vernon E. Jordan, Jr.	1977	Doctor of Laws
Coretta Scott King	1978	Doctor of Humane Letters
Samuel D. Proctor	1978	Doctor of Humane Letters
David Spitz	1978	Doctor of Laws
John Hope Franklin	1979	Doctor of Humane Letters
Howard Thurman	1979	Doctor of Humane Letters
Robert Frederick Collins	1979	Doctor of Laws
Lerone Bennett, Jr.	1980	Doctor of Laws
Martin Luther King, Sr.	1980	Doctor of Humane Letters
Rosa Freeman Keller	1980	Doctor of Humane Letters
William Talbot Handy, Jr.	1981	Doctor of Laws
Terry Sanford	1982	Doctor of Humane Letters
Joseph N. W. Gayles, Jr.	1983	Doctor of Laws
Mitchell W. Spellman	1983	Doctor of Laws
Shirley Chisholm	1985	Doctor of Humane Letters
Charles Gilchrist Adams	1985	Doctor of Laws
Jerry H. Coleman	1986	Doctor of Laws
Joseph E. Lowery	1986	Doctor of Humane Letters
John L. Wilson	1986	Doctor of Humane Letters
George H. W. Bush	1987	Medal of Honor
Lou Rawls	1988	Doctor of Humane Letters
Robert E. Johnson	1988	Doctor of Literature
John Hurst Adams	1989	Doctor of Laws
Marian Wright Edelman	1989	Doctor of Humane Letters
Ellis Marsalis, Jr.	1989	Doctor of Music
Rhetaugh Graves Dumas	1990	Doctor of Laws
Gardner C. Taylor	1990	Doctor of Humane Letters
Spike Lee	2004	Doctor of Humane Letters
Shirley Franklin	2004
William H. Cosby, Jr.	2006	Ed.D.
Hillary Clinton	2007	Doctor of Humane Letters
Roberta Flack	2007	Doctor of Humane Letters
Frank Mason	2007	Doctor of Humane Letters
Leah Chase	2008		[14]
Michelle Obama	2014		[15]

Trustees

The following corporate, civic and religious leaders currently or previously served on the Dillard University Board of Trustees:

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dillard University.

• Dillard University official website
• Dillard University official athletics website

References