We begin our National HBCU Week spotlight with Lincoln University, alma mater of late Amsterdam News Publisher Wilbert Tatum.
The Lincoln University was chartered in April 1854 as Ashmun Institute. The story of Lincoln University goes back to the early years of the 19th century and to the ancestors of its founder, John Miller Dickey, and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson. The Institute was re-named Lincoln University in 1866 after President Abraham Lincoln.
During the first one hundred years of its existence, Lincoln graduated approximately 20 percent of the Black physicians and more than 10 percent of the Black attorneys in the United States. Its alumni have headed over 35 colleges and universities and scores of prominent churches.
The school is the nations first degree-granting historically Black university. In 1972 Lincoln University formally associated with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as astate-related institution
Lincoln University at a glance
- President: Dr. Richard Green (Interim)
- Students: 1,902
- Mascot: Lions
- Colors: orange and blue
- Notable Alumni: Langston Hughes, Thrugood Marshall, Wilbert Tatum, Gil Scot-Heron, Cab Calloway, Jacqueline Allen
At least 10 of its alumni have served as United States ambassadors or mission chiefs. Many are federal, state and municipal judges, and several have served as mayors or city managers.
The campus is surrounded by the farmlands and wooded hilltops of southern Chester County, PA. Lincoln is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and offers academic programs in undergraduate study in the arts, sciences as well as graduate programs in human services, reading, education, mathematics, and administration.
The university has two satellite campuses in Philadelphia and Coatesville, which opened in the city of Coatesville in Fall 2013.
A notable feature of the university is the famed Barnes Collection, a variety of artwork by art collector and philanthropist Albert Barnes. The collection is valued at $25 billion which include works by Vincent van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Cluade Monet.
Lincoln University ranked 20 among the top Historically Black Colleges & Universities, moving up one place from last year, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual HBCU rankings.