Wilberforce University

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Wilberforce University is a private, coed, liberal arts historically African-American university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, that is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and participates in the United Negro College Fund. Wilberforce University was founded by a Black Bishop, Bishop Daniel Paine.

Wilberforce was the first university owned and operated by African-Americans, and is named for the 18th century English statesman and abolitionist William Wilberforce. The school played a role in the Underground Railroad. The campus is located three miles from Xenia, Ohio, and 21 miles from Dayton, Ohio.

[edit] History

Founded in 1856 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Wilberforce closed temporarily in 1862 during the American Civil War and reopened the following year after being sold to the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Growth drove the need to build a new campus in 1967, located one mile away.

In 1974, a tornado destroyed much of the city of Xenia and the old campus, part of the Super Outbreak tornado storm. The old campus contains the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center. Other old campus buildings still in use include the Carnegie Library built in 1909, Shorter Hall built in 1922, and the Charles Leander Hill Gymnasium built in 1958.

Wilberforce is one of two four-year institutions in the United States that require all students to participate in cooperative education^[1] to meet graduation requirements. The cooperative program places students in internships that provide practical experience in addition to academic training.

[edit] Athletic programs

Wilberforce is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and participates in the American Mideast Conference. The Bulldogs participate in the following intercollegiate sports: basketball (men's and women's), and volleyball (women's). Students also participate in the following intramural sports: basketball, softball, volleyball, flag football, and tennis.

[edit] NASA SEMAA project

In October 2006, Wilberforce held the grand opening and dedication for the NASA Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) and the associated Aerospace Education Laboratory (AEL). It was attended by Dr. Bernice G. Alston, deputy assistant administrator of NASA’s office of Education, and the Honorable David L. Hobson, state representative from Ohio’s 7th congressional district.^[2]

NASA’s program is designed to provide training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to underprivileged students to support NASA’s future needs. There are 17 NASA SEMAA project sites through the United States. Through this partnership, Wilberforce will offer training sessions for students in grades K-12 during the academic year and during the summer. The AEL is computerized classroom that provided technology to students in grades 7-12 that supports the SEMAA training sessions.

[edit] Notable alumni

Wilberforce alumni have organized chapters in cities throughout the country and continue to participate in activities on campus. Notable alumni include:

• Victoria Gray Adams, pioneering civil rights activist
• Regina M. Anderson, playwright, librarian, and member of the Harlem Renaissance
• Myron (Tiny) Bradshaw, American jazz and rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, pianist, and drummer
• Hallie Quinn Brown, an educator, writer and activist
• Floyd H. Flake, U.S. Congressman, Wilberforce-President
• James H. McGee, a city commissioner and first African-American mayor of Dayton, Ohio
• George Russell, an American jazz composer and theorist
• William Grant Still, the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony of his own performed by a leading orchestra, and the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company
• Ossian Sweet, an African American doctor notable for his self-defense of his newly-purchased home against a white mob attempting to force him out in Detroit in 1925

[edit] Controversy

On March 21, 2008 a compliance audit was completed by the United States Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General (OIG) focusing on the university's policies and procedures concerning the return and management of Title IV funds as required by Federal Law. For the two year audit period (2004-2005, 2005-2006) the audit found:^[3]

• Did not return $61,990 in unearned Title IV, HEA program funds;
• Did not administer the Federal Work Study (FWS) program in accordance with the HEA and regulations, resulting in payment of $2,372,141 in wages that lacked adequate supporting documentation;
• Disbursed $38,650 in Title IV, HEA program funds to ineligible students;
• Did not notify students when Title IV, HEA program funds were credited to their accounts;
• Did not return credit balances to students in a timely manner; and
• Did not perform FFEL exit counseling.

The OIG found:

"The University did not comply with the Title IV, HEA program requirements because it was not administratively capable. During the audit period, the University experienced significant staff turnover and lacked sufficient financial aid staff, failed to develop and implement written policies and procedures, did not maintain all records needed to demonstrate compliance with the HEA and applicable regulations, and did not ensure sufficient communication between the financial aid office and all other institutional offices at the University."

[edit] NPHC Organizations

• Alpha Kappa Alpha, Zeta Chapter
• Alpha Phi Alpha, Xi Chapter
• Kappa Alpha Psi, Delta Chapter
• Omega Psi Phi, Upsilon Chapter
• Delta Sigma Theta, Beta Chapter
• Zeta Phi Beta, Gamma Epsilon Chapter
• Phi Beta Sigma, Alpha Alpha Chapter
• Sigma Gamma Rho, Kappa Chapter
• Iota Phi Theta

[edit] References

1. ^ Wilberforce University: Yesterday and Today. Wiberforce University. Retrieved on January 1, 2007.
2. ^ NASA Education Facility Opens at Wilberforce University. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Retrieved on January 1, 2007.
3. ^ [http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/auditreports/fy2008/a05g0029.pdf Wilberforce University’s Administration of the Title IV, Higher Education Act Programs: Final Audit Report].

[edit] See also

• Historically black colleges

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Documenting the American South: The Sons of Allen: Together with a Sketch of the Rise and Progress of Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio