Bennett College for Women
Official Bennett College seal
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Former names
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Bennett School, Bennett Seminary |
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| Motto | Education for your future Sisterhood for Life |
| Type | Private Historically Black Liberal Arts College for Women |
| Established | August 1, 1873 and reorganized as an all-female institution in 1926 |
| Affiliation | United Methodist Church |
| Endowment | $15 million |
| President | Interim President Dr. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins |
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Academic staff
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89 |
| Students | 650 |
| Location | Greensboro, North Carolina, United States |
| Campus | 60 acres |
| Colors | |
| Affiliations | United Negro College Fund |
| Website | bennett |
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Bennett College Historic District
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| Location | Roughy bounded by E. Washington, Bennett and Gorrell Sts., Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Built | 1878 |
| Architectural style | Gothic, Other, Georgian Revival |
| MPS | Greensboro MPS |
| NRHP Reference # | 92000179 |
| Added to NRHP | April 3, 1992 |
Bennett College is a private four-year historically black liberal arts college for women located in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1873 as a normal school to educate freedmen and train both men and women as teachers. Originally coed, in 1926 it became a four-year women's college. It is one of two historically black colleges that enroll women only. Today it serves roughly 780 undergraduate students.
In 1956 Willa Beatrice Player was installed as the first African-American woman president of an accredited, four-year liberal arts college. She encouraged her students as activists in issues of the day. Beginning in 1960, Bennett students took part in the ultimately successful campaign in Greensboro to integrate "white" lunch counters at local variety stores. Since the late 1960s, they continued with other efforts. The college expanded its academic offerings and classes related to women's leadership. In the 21st century, the curriculum and students reflect global interests and the African diaspora.
Bennett College was founded August 1, 1873 as a normal school for seventy African-American men and women (freedmen or former slaves). The school's founder Albion W. Tourgee was an activist in the second half of the 19th century who championed the cause of racial equality. The school held its inaugural classes in the basement of Warnersville Methodist Episcopal Church North (now St. Matthew's United Methodist) in Greensboro. Bennett was coeducational and offered both high school and college-level courses, in an effort to compensate for the lack of educational opportunity for many blacks. The year after its founding, the school became sponsored by the Freedman's Aid Society and Southern Education Society of the northern Methodist Episcopal Church. Bennett remained affiliated for 50 years with the Freedman's Aid Society. In 1878, freedmen purchased land for a future college campus (this is the current site). Hearing of what was being done, New York businessman Lyman Bennett provided $10,000 in funding to build a permanent campus. Bennett died soon thereafter, and the school was named Bennett Seminary and a bell was created in his honor. Hearing of Bennett's philanthropy his coworkers continued his mission by providing the bell for the school.
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