CIAA Schools

Bowie State University:

Bowie State University (BSU) was established in 1865 and is the oldest historically Black institution in Maryland and among the oldest in the nation.  Bowie State University was originally founded in Baltimore, Maryland to train Negro teachers.  Today, Bowie State is one of 11 degree-granting institutions of the University System of Maryland that offers 20 undergraduate programs, 20 master's and 2 doctoral programs, and 12 certificate programs.  Bowie State's mission is to embrace diversity, which includes its African American heritage, emphasizes its foundational heritage in teacher education, facilitates interdisciplinary learning, fosters research and produces graduates who are technologically astute, think critically, and demonstrate proficiency in their chosen fields.

 

Chowan University

Chowan UniversityChowan University, located in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, was founded in 1848 by Baptist families as a Christian education institution. The University was named to honor the Native American Algonquin Chowanook tribe, “people of the south”, giving Chowan a long and distinguished tradition of faith and education in Northeastern NC. Chowan’s mission is to provide a caring environment characterized by Christian values and intellectual freedom in which students can gain the knowledge, skills, creativity, and ethical values they need to flourish in a rapidly changing, culturally diverse global society. Chowan has 63 academic programs with a liberal arts foundation to prepare its approximately 1000 undergraduates of diverse backgrounds from across the US and around the world for the working world. Academics studies range from Accounting and Business Administration to Biology and Graphic Communications.

 

Elizabeth City State University:

ECSU Vikings

Elizabeth City State University (Elizabeth City, North Carolina) was founded March 3, 1891, when the North Carolina General Assembly established a Normal School for the purpose of teaching and training teachers of the colored race to teach in the common schools of North Carolina."  Today, ECSU offers 37 undergraduate fields of study in the arts and sciences, four master’s degree programs and a doctorate in pharmacy in collaboration with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. In 2007, Diverse Issues in Higher Education ranked ECSU #1 among Historically Black Colleges and Universities for their black male student-athlete graduation rate. In 2009, U.S. News and World Report Magazine’s “America’s Best Colleges” ranked ECSU second among Top Public Baccalaureate Colleges in the South and 11th among the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

 
Fayetteville State University:

FSU Broncos

Fayetteville State University (FSU), founded in 1867 as the Howard School for the education of African Americans, is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina and the second-oldest public institution of higher education in the state.  The primary mission of the university is to provide high-quality education to its students through basic liberal arts foundation, specialized professional training, and specific graduate programs.  The university is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.  In addition, individual university departments, degree programs, and service functions hold memberships and accreditation with appropriate professional organizations.  The institution offers 44 baccalaureate degrees; 24 master's, and a doctorate in educational leadership. In June 2008, Chancellor James A. Anderson became the 11th Chief Executive Officer.

Johnson C. Smith University:

JCSU Bulls

Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) was founded 1867 by ministers of the Presbyterian Church.  The mission of JCSU is to provide an outstanding education for a diverse group of talented high-motivated students from various ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographical backgrounds.  The University offers a liberal education in conjunction with concentrated study in more than 20 specialized fields, in preparation of advanced study.   JCSU was ranked twice by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best comprehensive colleges in the South; Johnson C. Smith University continues to be a leader among private liberal arts colleges in the nation.  JCSU continues to offer extensive career development opportunities abound through co-op programs and internships with more than 90 companies.

Lincoln University (PA)

Lincoln LogoLincoln University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was chartered in April 1854 as Ashmun Institute. Lincoln is surrounded by the rolling farmlands and wooded hilltops of southern Chester County, PA. Lincoln is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and offers academic programs in undergraduate study in the arts, sciences as well as graduate programs in human services, reading, education, mathematics, and administration. The University is proud of its faculty for the high quality of teaching, research, and service, and of its alumni, among the most notable of whom are: Langston Hughes, '29, world-acclaimed poet and Thurgood Marshall, '30, first African-American Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Livingstone College:

Livingstone Blue Bears

Livingstone College was founded in 1879 by bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to meet societal needs of persons denied access to educational opportunities.  W.E.B DuBois once referred to Livingstone College as the "Harvard of the South". Livingstone College is a private, coeducational institution that encourages the development of leadership within a quality environment and promotes Judeo-Christian values, the broader community of humankind and the development of leadership within a quality-learning environment. Livingstone offers more than 25 baccalaureate degrees in diverse liberal arts programs and consists of four Academic Affairs divisions: Division of Business, Division of Education and Social Work, Division of Liberal Arts, and Division of Mathematics and Sciences.


Saint Augustine's College:

St. Augustine Falcons

Saint Augustine's College is a private, accredited, undergraduate liberal arts institution in Raleigh, N.C. Founded in 1867 by the Episcopal Church's Freedmen's Commission, the College's purpose was to train black teachers capable of teaching newly freed men as early as two years after the Civil War.  Over the years, the College has become one of the country's most highly respected historically black coeducational institutions of higher learning. The campus accommodates 38 buildings, three of which - the Chapel, St. Agnes Hospital and Taylor Hall - are registered historic landmarks. Saint Augustine's College attracts record numbers of students in courses including Forensic Science, Real Estate Management and Development, Sports Management and Theatre & Film. The Falcons offer 16 NCAA Division II men's and women's sports. To date, the Falcons have won 31 NCAA men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field championships under acclaimed head coach and Athletic Director George Williams.

Shaw University:

Shaw Bears

Shaw University was founded in 1865 in Raleigh, NC by Henry Martin Tupper to teach freedmen theology and biblical interpretation and is the oldest historically black college in the South.  After 144 years of existence, Shaw University continues to build on its liberal arts tradition that espouses learning in the humanities, social and natural sciences, and the quantitative disciplines. Shaw's mission is to maintain excellence in research and academic programs that foster intellectual enhancement and technological skills.



Virginia State University:

VSU Trojans

Virginia State University was founded in 1882 as the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, making it the first, fully state-supported, four-year institution of higher learning for Blacks in America. Virginia State University offers 52 baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degree programs and a Certificate of Advanced Study within five schools: The School of Agriculture; Business; Engineering, Science and Technology; Liberal Arts and Education; and Graduate Studies, Research and Outreach. Today, Virginia State University is one of Virginia's two land-grant institutions. For the past two years, U.S. News & World Report ranked VSU as the number one, master's level, public HBCU in America.

 Virginia Union University:

VUU

Founded in 1865, Virginia Union University has the distinction of being one of the oldest historically black universities in the South.  Seeking to empower students, the University provides dynamic academic support programs that help students develop strong moral values to build a foundation for success.  The University's undergraduate academic enterprise is comprised of four major units: the Sydney Lewis School of Business; the School of Education, Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies; the School of Humanities and Social Sciences; and the School of Math, Science and Technology. The University's graduate program is housed in the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology.  The School offers the Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Christian Education, and Doctor of Ministry degrees.

 Winston-Salem State University:

VUU

Founded in 1892, Winston-Salem State University, a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, is a historically black university that today is a recognized regional institution offering baccalaureate and graduate programs to a diverse student population. U.S. News and World Report has ranked the university among Top Public Comprehensive Colleges in the South - Bachelor's Category for the last nine years (2001-2009).