Lincoln University, PA.html



Lincoln University
Motto:	"If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
Established:	April 29, 1854 (1854-04-29)
Type:	Public, HBCU
President:	Dr. Ivory V. Nelson
Undergraduates:	1,827
Postgraduates:	596
Location:	Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
Campus:	Rural 422 acres (1.7 km2)
Former names:	Ashmun Institute
Colors:	Orange and Blue
Nickname:	Lions
Website:	www.lincoln.edu

Lincoln University (LU) is America's first degree granting historically black university located in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The university also hosts a Center for Graduate Studies, located in the City of Philadelphia. Currently, Lincoln University provides undergraduate and graduate coursework to approximately 2,500 students. As Horace Mann Bond noted in his book Education for Freedom: A History of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, with the college's founding in 1854, "This was the first institution founded anywhere in the world to provide a higher education in the arts and sciences for youth of African descent."

Student Union at Lincoln University

Today, Lincoln University provides a liberal arts and science-based undergraduate core curriculum and select graduate programs to prepare students of every race and nationality. Lincoln is a "state-related" university, meaning it receives public funds and offers reduced tuition for Pennsylvania residents but is under independent control.

The Lincoln University Urban Center (LUUC) is an extension campus in the University City section of Philadelphia, where Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania are also located. This campus offers Graduate level programs and continuing education.¹ After the renovation that was started in Fall of 2007 is completed, the Urban Center will be known as Lincoln University Plaza.²

History

Lincoln University was founded as Ashmun Institute in 1854 by the Rev. John Miller Dickey, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson (a Quaker). It was named after Jehudi Ashmun, a religious leader and social reformer. Lincoln University's (Ashmun Institute's) ties to Africa and youth of African descent was a significant component of the framework for the institution's creation. Specifically, John Miller Dickey's first students - the Reverend James Ralston Amos, his brother the Reverend Thomas H. Amos, and the Reverend Armistead Miller - were trained to support the establishment of Liberia upon their graduation.

In 1866, Ashmun Institute was renamed Lincoln University after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

In 1972 Lincoln University formally associated with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a state-related institution.

As president of Lincoln University, Horace Mann Bond formed a friendship with Albert Barnes, who took a special interest in the institution. In his will Barnes gave Lincoln University the privilege of naming four of the five directors originally defined as the number for the governing board of the Barnes Foundation. The number of directors has since increased in efforts to correct the collection's protracted financial difficulties. This has diluted Lincoln's influence over the valuable collection, now valued at over two billion dollars.

Philanthropist and art collector Albert C. Barnes had an interest in helping underserved youth and populations. Barnes demanded that the collection be used primarily as a teaching resource, and limited the numbers of people who could view it, and for years even the kinds of people, with a preference for students and working class.

More recently, the local government restricted traffic to the current location as it is in a residential neighborhood. Both of these factors had the effect of limiting public access and pushed the Foundation near bankruptcy by the 1990s. Supporters began to explore plans to move the collection to a more public location and maintain it with museum standards. In an effort to raise money for needed renovations to the main building, the Foundation sent some of the collection's most famous paintings on tour.

In 2002, the Barnes Foundation contested Albert C. Barnes' will, arguing that the Merion location of the collection and small number of Board members limited the Foundation's ability to sustain itself financially. Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell brokered a settlement in 2005 between The Barnes Foundation and Lincoln University.

Academics

According to U.S. News & World Report, Lincoln University ranks number 27 out of 81 in the 2009 magazine’s first ranking of undergraduate education at HBCUs. It is ranked as a tier 1 school on the list. Lincoln University shares its #27 ranking with Oakwood University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. ³

Lincoln University's "International and Study Abroad Program" had student participation in Service Learning Projects in the countries of Ecuador, Argentina, Spain, Ireland, Costa Rica, Japan, France, Cambodia, Zambia, Liberia, Ghana, Kenya, Russia, Australia, Thailand, the Czech Republic, Mexico, and South Africa.

The new Lincoln-Barnes Visual Arts program is a collaboration between Lincoln University and the Barnes Foundation that establishes a Visual Arts program that leads to the degree of Bachelor's of Fine Arts.

Schools

School of Humanities

• English and Mass Communications
• Foreign Languages & Literatures
• Philosophy and Religion
• Visual and Performing Arts
• Horace Mann Bond Honors Program

School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Lincoln's Excellent Academic Program in Science (LEAPS) through the National Science Foundation
• Mathematics & Computer Science
• Physics

School of Social Sciences & Behavioral Studies

• Business & Information Technology
• Criminal Justice
• Education
• HPER (Health, Physical Education, Recreation)
• History & Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology & Anthropology

School of Graduate Studies

• Master of Human Services (MHS)
• Master of Education (M.Ed)
• Master of Reading (MSR)
• Master of Science in Administration (MSA)

Campus

Lincoln University main campus is 422 acres (1.71 km²) with 56 buildings totaling over one million gross square feet. There are fifteen residence halls that accommodate over 1,600 students. The dormitories range from Alumni Hall housing 20 upper class females built in 1870, Amos Hall housing 14 upper class males built in 1902, to the new coed 400 bed Apartment Style Living (ASL) Suites built in 2005. Ground was broken in November, 2007 for a $40.5 million, four story, 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m²) Science and General Classroom High Technology Building to be completed in December, 2008. A $26.1 million 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m²) International Cultural Center construction began on April 10, 2008, with completion scheduled for May, 2009.

One of the most visible landmarks on campus is the Alumni Memorial Arch located at the entrance to the university. The arch was personally dedicated by President Warren G. Harding in 1921 to the Lincoln men who served in World War I. The Mary Dod Brown Memorial Chapel is the center for campus religious activities. This Gothic structure was built in 1890 and contains a 300 seat main auditorium and a 200 seat fellowship hall.

Vail Memorial Hall build in 1899 and expanded in 1954 served as the library until 1972. The facility currently contains executive administrative offices including the President, Vice Presidents, and other staff.

The Langston Hughes Memorial Library (LHML) houses an open shelf of more than 176,000 volumes, and subscribes to more than 600 current periodicals annually. A substantial amount of the library’s periodicals are on microfilm and can be accessed electronically through the school’s website. LHML is equipped with the JSTOR database for online academic proprietary reasearch tools. JSTOR includes archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across multiple disciplines as well as selected mongraphs. A separate section of the library contains special African American collections as well as personal papers and artifacts from the library’s namesake Langston Hughes (class of 1929).

The completely renovated new Student Union Building contains the Bookstore, Cinema, Café, two new Television studios and a Radio studio, postal services, men's barber shop/women's salon, and multipurpose rooms. The Thurgood Marshall (class of 1930) Living Learning Center along with the Student Union Building are the centers for campus social and meeting activities.

Manuel Rivero Hall is the athletic and recreation center at Lincoln University. The main gymnasium seats 2,500 for athletic and convocation activities. A separate full size auxiliary gymnasium, Olympic size swimming pool, classrooms, dance studio, training room facilities, wrestling room, and eight lane bowling alley are contained in this facility.

Lincoln University Plaza, a six story building in the University City section of Philadelphia, houses the Graduate Center.

Student activities

Honor Societies

• Alpha Chi - National Honor Scholarship Society
• Alpha Kappa Delta National Sociology Honor Society
• Alpha Mu Gamma National Foreign Language Honor Society
• Beta Kappa Chi Honorary Scientific Society
• Chi Alpha Epsilon National Honor Society (Act/T.I.M.E)
• Dobro Slovo - The National Slavic Honor Society
• Iota Eta Tau Honor Society
• Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honorary Society in Economics
• Phi Iota Sigma Foreign Language Honor Society
• Phi Kappa Epsilon Honor Society
• Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society
• Psi Chi National Psychology Honor Society
• Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society
• Kappa Delta Pi - Tau Zeta Chapter International Honor Society in Education

Academic Organizations

• Accounting Club
• Arabic Club
• Biology Club
• Business and Economics Club
• Chemistry Club
• Chinese Club
• Education Club
• French Club
• Japanese Club
• Music Majors Club
• Melvin B. Tolson Society (English)
• Thurgood Marshall Law Society
• National Society of Black Engineers
• Organization for Political Awareness
• Psychology Club
• Society of Physics Students
• Russian Club
• Society for Math and Computer Science
• Sociology Club
• Spanish Club

Student Organization and Clubs

• Class Clubs (4)
• Duece Deuce Drill Team
• Forensic Society
• Fun 4 Life
• International Club
• Lincoln University Concert Choir
• The Lincoln University Dance Troupe
• Lincoln University Gospel Choir
• Lincoln University Jazz Ensemble
• Lincoln University Volunteer Center
• NAACP
• National Coalition of 100 Black Women
• National Council for Negro Women
• Students Against A.I.D.S.
• Student Leader Network
• We Are One
• Ziana Fashion Club

Student Publications, Radio, and Television

• Newspaper - The Lincolnian
• Yearbook - The Lion
• Campus Radio Station - WWLU
• Campus Television Station - LUC-TV

NPHC Organizations

• Alpha Phi Alpha - Nu Chapter, 1912
• Omega Psi Phi - Beta Chapter, 1914
• Kappa Alpha Psi - Epsilon Chapter, 1915
• Phi Beta Sigma - Mu Chapter, 1922
• Alpha Kappa Alpha - Epsilon Nu, 1969
• Delta Sigma Theta - Zeta Omega Chapter, 1969
• Zeta Phi Beta - Delta Delta Chapter, 1970
• Sigma Gamma Rho - Xi Theta Chapter, 1995
• Iota Phi Theta - Lincoln University Colony, 2000

Social Fellowships and Service Organizations

• Groove Phi Groove - Lion Chapter
• Swing Phi Swing Social Fellowship Incorporated

Athletics

Lincoln University participates in the NCAA Division II level as a transitional institution. Lincoln has won 17 NCAA Division III Track & Field championships since 1985. Lincoln currently competes as a Division II a provisional member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and, the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

The success of the Track and Field program led to the creation of the co-ed athletic fellowship of Track Phi Track at Lincoln in 1983. Some of the requirements include being an All-American and/or striving to become an All-American, meeting and exceeding academic requirements in your major, and participation in Lincoln's Track & Field program for four years.

The men's basketball team achieved a 46-12 record from 2004- 2006 seasons. The 2005-2006 season witnessed Lincoln's first national basketball ranking, led by All American, D3Hoops & Basketball News National Player of the Year Kyle Myricks who was dubbed by ESPN as D3's "Most Exciting Player". The Lions made the sweet sixteen for the first time in school history.

On April 11, 2006 (2006-04-11), Lincoln's Board of Trustees voted to revive the Football program, and establish Marching & Pep Bands. The University has petitioned membership in the CIAA, of which Lincoln was a founding member of the league. Lincoln will be moving from the NCAA's Division III to Division II. A club football team is scheduled for the 2008 followed with a full Division II schedule in 2009.

On December 2, 2006 (2006-12-02), Lincoln's basketball team set 5 Division III records in a 201-78 victory over Ohio State Marion. They included points in a half and a game, as well as the NCAA record for margin of victory. The record-setting game has received significant publicity, both positive and negative. The coach and team have been criticized for "humiliat[ing] a helpless opponent", as Ohio State Marion is a non-NCAA school that only was able to suit six players.⁴ Lincoln played "full-court press in the second half" and one player "attempted 41 three-pointers, continuing to launch treys when the school was ahead by more than 100 points."⁴ Lincoln coach Garfield Yuille defended the actions of himself and his team, saying that "he could not tell his team to stop playing hard" and "late in the game... [he] told his team to walk the ball up the floor, even at the risk of a shot-clock violation."⁵

Playing its first football game in 48 years on August 30, 2008, Lincoln defeated George Mason University, 34-7.

Alumni

• List of Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni

Additional reading

• Education For Freedom -A History of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania by Horace Mann Bond. Copyright 1976 by Lincoln University of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education of Pennsylvania. Printed by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
• The Einstein File - Fred Jerome; ISBN 0-312-28856-5
• "TheDeal of the Art". Philadelphia Inquirer.^{dead link}

Notes

A.^{^} Founder and President of the Board of Trustees Ashmun Institute and Lincoln University

B.^{^} First Alumni President

Footnotes

External links

• www.lincoln.edu - Official web site
• www.lulions.com Athletics web site