The History of Spelman College
Published November 15, 2024
Last Updated December 3, 2024
Spelman College serves as “a historically Black college and a global leader in the education of women of African descent.” The college is dedicated to academic excellence and the development of its students. It seeks to empower the whole person and inspire a lifelong commitment to social change.
Founded in 1881, Spelman, originally called the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, began in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church by schoolteachers and Baptist missionaries, Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles. With the financial assistance of John D. Rockefeller, the school purchased a nine-acre site once occupied by Union troops during the Civil War.
In 1884, in honor of the Rockefellers, the school changed its name to Spelman Seminary after Laura Spelman Rockefeller’s parents. In 1921, the institution was permanently renamed Spelman College. Presently, it has over 2,100 students from 43 states and 10 foreign countries.
According to the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College’s total economic impact is $199M for its local and regional economies, employment impact is 1,625 jobs, and total lifetime earnings for graduates is $1.2B.
Want to know more about Spelman and the AUC? Check out The Legacy of Atlanta’s Historically Black Colleges & Universities here.
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