Atlanta
University Presidential Records
1856-1984
373 linear feet
NOTE: A paper copy
of the finding aid,
with container list,
is available at the
Atlanta University
Center Archives for
in-house consultation
and may be obtained
for a fee.
The charter establishing Atlanta University was
approved October 16, 1867. The University was
part of the movement to educate Negroes at the
end of the Civil War, and an extension of educational
efforts spearheaded by freedmen and abolitionists,
and supported by black and white churches and
organizations such as the American Missionary
Association and the Freedmen's Bureau. The first
students of the University began classes in April
1869 and by October 1869 there were eighty-nine
students enrolled.
On June 23, 1873, at the first commencement exercise,
four women, Julia Turner, Bettie Outlaw, Lucy Laney
and Adella Cleveland were awarded certificates from
the Higher Normal Department. A primary focus of
the curriculum for the University was to educate
teachers. The low literacy level at the time required
that the University offer classes from grammar school
to college level.
By the 1920s the
literacy rate improved and the University was
able to phase out its pre-high school and high
school level courses. In 1929, Atlanta University
affiliated with Morehouse and Spelman Colleges
in a cooperative plan to eliminate duplication
in their educational programs. Under this plan,
known as the Atlanta University System, Atlanta
University discontinued its undergraduate programs
and devoted its resources to graduate and professional
education while Morehouse and Spelman operated
at the college level. During the next six decades
Atlanta University established graduate programs
in Arts and Sciences, Business Administration,
Education, Library and Information Science,
and Social Work. Noted administrators and faculty
from the University included John Hope, W.E.B.
DuBois, James Weldon Johnson, Clarence A. Bacote,
Hylan Lewis, and Samuel Madison Nabrit. On
July 1, 1988, Atlanta University merged with
Clark College to form Clark Atlanta University.
The Atlanta University Presidential Records
document the school from its earliest origins
until its merger with Clark College. The records
include portions of administrative files from
ten presidents, and are arranged into series
by the individual presidents' names.
The records of the presidents sometime overlap
in dates and may predate or extend beyond the
tenure of the presidential appointment. Such
dates may indicate a continuing relationship
with the University, historical documents the
president accumulated in carrying out his/her
duties, or document the personal life or career
of the person before or after the presidential
appointment. The Atlanta University Presidential
Records also include a series of financial
papers. Complementing the University's archival
records are publications and a vertical file
of ephemera materials that are maintained separately.Related
collection:
Related collection:
Atlanta University Financial Records, 1856-1984