Paine College
Encyclopedia
Paine College is a private
Historically Black
college
located in Augusta, Georgia
.
Paine College was founded by the leadership of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, now United Methodist Church, and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, now Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
. Paine was the brainchild of Bishop Lucius Henry Holsey, who first expressed the idea for the College in 1869. Bishop Holsey asked leaders in the ME Church South to help establish a school to train Negro teachers and preachers so that they might in turn appropriately address the educational and spiritual needs of the people newly freed from the evils of slavery. Leaders in the ME Church South agreed, and Paine Institute came into being.
On November 1, 1882, the Paine College Board of Trustees, consisting of six members, three from each Church, met for the first time. They agreed to name the school in honor of the late Bishop Robert Paine of the MECS who had helped to organize the CME Church. In December, the Trustees selected Dr. Morgan Callaway as the first President of the College and enlarged the Board from six to 19 members, drawing its new membership from communities outside of Georgia so that the enterprise might not be viewed as exclusively local.
Bishop Holsey traveled throughout the Southeast seeking funds for the new school. On December 12, 1882, he presented the Trustees of Paine Institute with $7.15 from the Virginia Conference and $8.85 from the South Georgia Conference. In that same month, Bishop Atticus Haygood, a minister of the ME Church South, gave $2,000 to support President Callaway through the first year. Thus, a $2,000 gift from a white minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and $16 raised by a CME minister – penny by penny from former slaves - became the financial basis for the founding of Paine College.
In 1883, a Charter of Incorporation for The Paine Institute was granted, and the Trustees elected Dr. George Williams Walker as its first teacher. In January 1884, classes began in rented quarters in downtown Augusta.
On December 28, 1884, the Reverend George Williams Walker was elected President of Paine Institute following the resignation of Reverend Callaway. In 1886, the College moved to its present site.
The year 1888 was a very significant one for Paine College. Reverend Moses U. Payne, an MECS minister from Missouri, gave $25,000 to Paine for the endowment. Also in 1888, Trustee W. A. Candler presented a resolution to the Trustees authorizing President Walker to employ Dr. John Wesley Gilbert
to become the first Black member of the faculty. Dr. Gilbert was Paine’s first student and first graduate. He furthered his education at Brown University and Athens, Greece. Since that time, the faculty has been interracial and international. President Walker died in 1910 after having headed Paine for twenty-six years.
The Paine Institute began with a high school component and gradually developed a college department. In 1901 the first four-year degrees were granted at The Paine Institute. Initially, advanced students received special instruction on an individual basis, but by 1903 sufficient college-level work was provided to justify changing the school’s name to The Paine College. Paine continued its high school department until 1945, because there was no public secondary school for Blacks in Augusta until that year.
Under the leadership of President Edmund Clarke Peters, 1929–1956, Paine College was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools as a Class “B” institution in 1931 and then as a Class “A” institution in 1945.
President E. Clayton Calhoun served as President from 1956 to 1970. During his leadership, Paine was approved by the University Senate of The Methodist Church in 1959, and the College was admitted to full membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1961.
Dr. Lucius H. Pitts was elected President of Paine College in 1971. He was the first alumnus and first Black President of the College. He died in his office in 1974. Dr. Julius S. Scott, Jr. served as President of the College on two separate occasions: 1975 to 1982 and 1988 to 1994. Paine alumnus, Dr. William Harris, served during the period of 1982 to 1988. In 1994, Dr. Shirley A. R. Lewis became Paine College’s first female president.
Paine College is a full-fledged liberal arts institution offering courses and major programs in five divisions: Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Social Sciences. The College remains a small, predominantly Black, coeducational, church-related school, gratefully related to its founding denominations and open to all.
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
Historically Black
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
located in Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
.
Mission
The Mission of Paine College, a church-related private institution, is to provide a liberal arts education of the highest quality that emphasizes academic excellence, ethical and spiritual values, social responsibility, and personal development to prepare men and women for positions of leadership and service in the African American community, the nation, and the world.Vision
Over the next five years, Paine College shall build on its achievements and legacy to be regionally recognized as a premier liberal arts institution of higher education.
|
History
| 1883 | Established as Paine Institute |
| 1884 | Classes began in downtown Augusta |
| 1886 | College moved to present site |
| 1901 | First four year degrees awarded |
| 1903 | Renamed to Paine College |
Paine College was founded by the leadership of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, now United Methodist Church, and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, now Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a historically black denomination within the broader context of Methodism. The group was organized in 1870 when several black ministers, with the full support of their white counterparts in the former Methodist Episcopal Church, South, met to form an...
. Paine was the brainchild of Bishop Lucius Henry Holsey, who first expressed the idea for the College in 1869. Bishop Holsey asked leaders in the ME Church South to help establish a school to train Negro teachers and preachers so that they might in turn appropriately address the educational and spiritual needs of the people newly freed from the evils of slavery. Leaders in the ME Church South agreed, and Paine Institute came into being.
On November 1, 1882, the Paine College Board of Trustees, consisting of six members, three from each Church, met for the first time. They agreed to name the school in honor of the late Bishop Robert Paine of the MECS who had helped to organize the CME Church. In December, the Trustees selected Dr. Morgan Callaway as the first President of the College and enlarged the Board from six to 19 members, drawing its new membership from communities outside of Georgia so that the enterprise might not be viewed as exclusively local.
Bishop Holsey traveled throughout the Southeast seeking funds for the new school. On December 12, 1882, he presented the Trustees of Paine Institute with $7.15 from the Virginia Conference and $8.85 from the South Georgia Conference. In that same month, Bishop Atticus Haygood, a minister of the ME Church South, gave $2,000 to support President Callaway through the first year. Thus, a $2,000 gift from a white minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and $16 raised by a CME minister – penny by penny from former slaves - became the financial basis for the founding of Paine College.
In 1883, a Charter of Incorporation for The Paine Institute was granted, and the Trustees elected Dr. George Williams Walker as its first teacher. In January 1884, classes began in rented quarters in downtown Augusta.
| Morgan Callaway | 1882–1884 |
| George Williams Walker | 1884–1911 |
| John D. Hammond | 1911–1915 |
| D.E. Atkins | 1915–1917 |
| Albert Deems Betts | 1917–1923 |
| Ray S. Tomlin Ray S. Tomlin Ray Silver Tomlin was born in Phoenix, then part of the Arizona Territory, in 1889. He moved with his family to a farm in Missouri and received a Bachelor of Divinity from Garrett Bible Institute and a master's degree from Northwestern University.... |
1923–1929 |
| E.C. Peters | 1929–1956 |
| E. Clayton Calhoun | 1956–1970 |
| Lucius H. Pitts | 1971–1974 |
| Julius S. Scott, Jr. | 1975–1982 |
| William H. Harris | 1982–1988 |
| Julius S. Scott, Jr. | 1988–1994 |
| Shirley A.R. Lewis | 1994–2007 |
| George C. Bradley | 2007–present |
On December 28, 1884, the Reverend George Williams Walker was elected President of Paine Institute following the resignation of Reverend Callaway. In 1886, the College moved to its present site.
The year 1888 was a very significant one for Paine College. Reverend Moses U. Payne, an MECS minister from Missouri, gave $25,000 to Paine for the endowment. Also in 1888, Trustee W. A. Candler presented a resolution to the Trustees authorizing President Walker to employ Dr. John Wesley Gilbert
John Wesley Gilbert
John Wesley Gilbert was the first African American archaeologist, the first graduate of Paine College, the first African American professor of that school, and the first African American to receive a master's degree from Brown University.-Early life:Born to slaves in Hephzibah, Georgia on July 6,...
to become the first Black member of the faculty. Dr. Gilbert was Paine’s first student and first graduate. He furthered his education at Brown University and Athens, Greece. Since that time, the faculty has been interracial and international. President Walker died in 1910 after having headed Paine for twenty-six years.
The Paine Institute began with a high school component and gradually developed a college department. In 1901 the first four-year degrees were granted at The Paine Institute. Initially, advanced students received special instruction on an individual basis, but by 1903 sufficient college-level work was provided to justify changing the school’s name to The Paine College. Paine continued its high school department until 1945, because there was no public secondary school for Blacks in Augusta until that year.
Under the leadership of President Edmund Clarke Peters, 1929–1956, Paine College was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools as a Class “B” institution in 1931 and then as a Class “A” institution in 1945.
President E. Clayton Calhoun served as President from 1956 to 1970. During his leadership, Paine was approved by the University Senate of The Methodist Church in 1959, and the College was admitted to full membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1961.
Dr. Lucius H. Pitts was elected President of Paine College in 1971. He was the first alumnus and first Black President of the College. He died in his office in 1974. Dr. Julius S. Scott, Jr. served as President of the College on two separate occasions: 1975 to 1982 and 1988 to 1994. Paine alumnus, Dr. William Harris, served during the period of 1982 to 1988. In 1994, Dr. Shirley A. R. Lewis became Paine College’s first female president.
Paine College is a full-fledged liberal arts institution offering courses and major programs in five divisions: Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Social Sciences. The College remains a small, predominantly Black, coeducational, church-related school, gratefully related to its founding denominations and open to all.
The Campus
Paine College has a 64.4 acres (260,617.8 m²) acre campus located in the heart of Augusta, Georgia. Most of the college's buildings, including residence halls, classroom buildings, and the library, are located in the main campus area. The athletic field, gymnasium, tennis court, and the chapel/music building are included in the rear campus area.Notable alumni
This is a list of notable alumni which includes graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Paine Institute and/or Paine College.See also
External links
- www.paine.edu - official website
- www.paine.edu/CampusMap.htm - Campus map