Shaw University

Founded as the Raleigh Institute in 1865, Shaw University is the oldest historically black university in the southern United States and this private liberal arts institution is located Raleigh, in the state of North Carolina.

The American Baptist Home Mission society founded the institution and over the years it became the first US college to offer a four-year medical program as well as the first historically black college to become fully coeducational.

It adopted its current name in 1875 and Shaw University was also where the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) first emerged, which became a central organization during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Over 30 academic programs are on offer, primarily in the fields of religion and philosophy, education, natural science, accounting, business, and computer science. In addition to this, the university established the Center for Alternative Programs in Education (CAPE) in 1994, to serve adults interested in earning an undergraduate degree and since its inception more than 4,000 students have graduated.

Over the years thousands of people have graduated from Shaw University, with many going on to become leaders in their respective fields.Ella Baker, who founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), went on to become a leading activist during the civil rights movement and Roger Demosthenes O’Kelly became the first black and deaf lawyer in the United States after graduating from Shaw University in 1909.

Other famous graduates include Grammy-Award winning singer Gladys Knight, former WBA heavyweight champion James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith, and Angie Brooks, who was the only African female President of the United Nations General Assembly.