- Date:
- 1869 - present
- Notable Alumni:
- Robert Sengstacke Abbott
Claflin University
-
What is Claflin University?
Claflin University, located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, is a private historically Black institution. It was founded in 1869 by Methodist missionaries to educate formerly enslaved men and women.
Named after Boston philanthropists Lee and William Claflin, it was South Carolina’s first university to offer higher education to men and women "regardless of race, complexion, or religious opinion". Claflin students played a significant role in the civil rights movement, including a 1960 lunch counter sit-in and hosting Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965.
With an enrollment of just under 2,000 students, Claflin grants bachelor's degrees in over 40 areas of study and offers graduate programs in business, education, criminal justice, and biotechnology. Its sports teams compete in the NCAA Division II. Notable alumni include Robert Bates, the first Black certified architect in the United States, and Earnest A. Finney, Jr., the first African American to serve as chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.
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Where is Claflin University located?
Claflin University is a private historically Black institution founded in 1869 by Methodist missionaries. It is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, which is 75 miles (120 km) west of Charleston. The university was named after Lee Claflin, a Boston philanthropist, and his son William Claflin, then governor of Massachusetts, for their financial support. Claflin was the first university in South Carolina to offer higher education to both men and women regardless of race, complexion, or religious opinion.
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When was Claflin University founded?
Claflin University is a private historically Black institution in Orangeburg, South Carolina, founded in 1869 by Methodist missionaries to educate formerly enslaved men and women. It is named after Lee Claflin, a Boston philanthropist, and his son William Claflin, then governor of Massachusetts, who financially supported the school. Claflin was South Carolina’s first higher education institution for both men and women "regardless of race, complexion, or religious opinion". The school changed from a university to a college in 1979 but was reinstated as Claflin University in 1999 and continues to be affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
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What is Claflin University known for?
Claflin University, located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, was founded in 1869 by Methodist missionaries to educate formerly enslaved people. It was the first South Carolina university to offer higher education to both men and women "regardless of race, complexion, or religious opinion." Claflin students played a significant role in the civil rights movement, including a 1960 lunch counter sit-in and hosting Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965. Claflin is a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) that grants bachelor's degrees in over 40 areas of study and offers graduate programs in business, education, criminal justice, and biotechnology.
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Who can attend Claflin University?
Claflin University, located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, was founded in 1869 to provide education for formerly enslaved men and women. According to the university charter, anyone with "good moral character and a conscientious desire to learn" can attend, "regardless of race, complexion, or religious opinion." As a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Claflin has a mostly African American student body and grants bachelor’s degrees in over 40 major areas of study.
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How has Claflin University contributed to education and its community?
Claflin University, located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, was founded in 1869 by Methodist missionaries to educate formerly enslaved men and women. It was South Carolina’s first higher education institution open to all, regardless of race, color, or religion. In 1872, the Claflin College of Agriculture and Mechanical Institute was established, later becoming South Carolina State University. Claflin students played a significant role in the civil rights movement, including participating in sit-ins and hosting Martin Luther King, Jr. Claflin has produced notable alumni, including Robert Bates, the first Black certified architect in the United States; and Earnest A. Finney, Jr., the first African American to serve as chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.
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Claflin University, private historically Black institution founded in 1869 by Methodist missionaries to provide education for formerly enslaved men and women. Located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, 75 miles (120 km) west of Charleston, the university is named for Lee Claflin, a prominent Boston philanthropist, and his son William Claflin, then governor of Massachusetts, who provided the school with financial support (William Claflin also founded Boston University the same year).
Claflin University was South Carolina’s first institution to provide higher education for both men and women “regardless of race, complexion, or religious opinion.” According the university charter, the only requirements for admission were “good moral character and a conscientious desire to learn.” The Claflin College of Agriculture and Mechanical Institute (also known as the South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute) was established at the university in 1872, receiving state funding through the Land-Grant College Act of 1862. The institute split from the university in 1896, becoming the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina and later South Carolina State University. In 1879 Claflin presented its first honorary degrees, and Claflin University’s Normal Department graduated its first class. The school awarded its first bachelor degrees in 1882. Claflin changed from a university to a college in 1979 but was reinstated as Claflin University in 1999. The school continues to be affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Claflin University students played a significant role in local events in the civil rights movement—including joining with South Carolina State Agricultural and Mechanical College students in a 1960 lunch counter sit-in and hosting a February 1965 visit from Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1968 six Claflin students were injured when police opened fire on a protest at a segregated bowling alley at South Carolina State University—three SC State University students were killed. The movement on campus and in South Carolina was documented by student Cecil Williams (graduated 1960), Jet magazine’s youngest-ever photographer. In 2019 Williams founded the Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum in Orangeburg.
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Claflin’s total enrollment is just under 2,000 students and consists predominantly of undergraduates. A Historically Black College and University(HBCU), the university has a mostly African American student body. Claflin grants bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 major areas of study in the Schools of Humanities & Social Sciences, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Business, and Education. The university’s core undergraduate curriculum is rooted in the liberal arts with an interdisciplinary project-oriented approach. Claflin offers graduate programs in business, education, criminal justice, and biotechnology.
Claflin’s varsity sports teams compete in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Notable alumni include many Black “firsts”: Robert Bates, the United States’ first Black certified architect; Earnest A. Finney, Jr., the first African American to serve as chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court; and scholars James Martin and Leo F. Twiggs, who were the first Black Ph.D. graduates from the University of South Carolina and the University of Georgia, respectively.