Campus update

Each year, new events occur on HBCU, grounds that focus a new spotlight on these historic institutions. For some, like Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville, the school year marks new beginnings. Not only did Simmons gain new HBCU status, it reopens on land it test during the Great Depression and the Jim Crow years. On other campuses, students, faculty and administrators will return to new leaders, some will find stately new buildings on sprawling campuses, while others will celebrate more than 100 years of service.

WHAT'S NEW ON CAMPUS

SIMMONS COLLEGE OF KENTUCKY, the oldest Black college in the state, reopens this fall on its original campus after the school lost its land in an eviction of sorts 77 years ago. Simmons opened in 1879 to educate Blacks, many of whom were former slaves. But the school lost its footing in 1930 when the property was lost in foreclosure. Officials scaled back the school's academic offerings and moved to another location, operating solely as a Bible college. The foreclosed property was purchased by the University of Louisville and used as the segregated campus for Black students. This fall, however, Simmons reopens on its original campus as a full-fledged liberal arts school, says Dr. Kevin W. Cosby, president of Simmons. "This is quite an historic moment. Several campus buildings will house artifacts from the original building."

HARRIS-STOWE STATE UNIVERSITY

This year, Harris-Stowe State University, in St. Louis celebrates 150 years of educational service, and it is on track to enroll its largest freshman class in its history, says Courtney Z. Jordan, director of public relations. Of the estimated 1,000 freshmen applications the school has received, officials expect to enroll up to 46 percent more students than average, Jordan says. What accounts for the jump? "[Dr. Henry Givens Jr.] has been our president for the last 26 years," Jordan says, "and he continues to transform the university into an educational powerhouse that caters to the needs of urban students in the metropolitan area."

JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY

After a 20-year interregnum, Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., is reviving its Opera/South Company, which years ago helped introduce students to the art form and propelled others into successful careers. It was during the 1980s that Phyllis Lewis-Hale was introduced to opera while she was at Jackson State. Now, following a noted career, she has returned to her alma mater to help revive the company where she got her start. The Magic Flute by Mozart is the company's first full-fledged production, which opened in March.

HOWARD UNIVERSITY

The John H. Johnson School of Communications is on track to break ground on its new building in 2009, says Dean Jannette Dates. The school recently expanded the board of visitors from 14 to 39 members to help raise the $10 million needed to break ground for the project, she says. The board is comprised of several prestigious business leaders. The Washington, D.C., school has about $6 million for the project, which is expected to cost about $40 million. In 2003, Howard renamed its school of communications in honor of John H. Johnson, who passed away in 2005. Johnson was file thunder, chairman and CEO of Johnson Publishing Co., the largest Black-owned publishing company in the world and publishes EBONY and Jet magazines.

In other Howard news, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. was among four individuals to receive an honorary degree during the university's 139th commencement exercise this spring. Oprah Winffey, the talk-show host and entertainment executive, delivered the commencement address.

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY

Lincoln University in Lincoln, Pa., and a world-renowned arts foundation have joined forces to create an innovative collaborative bachelor of arts degree program, officials announced recently. The course of studies will prepare students for careers in museum and collection studies, museum education and museum communication. Students who enroll in the program will earn a degree from Lincoln University and obtain firsthand experience in the various concentrations at the Barnes Foundation, which was established in 1922 by Albert C. Barnes, a philanthropist, to promote education and fine arts. The foundation houses a collection of works by Renoir, Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh and others. Founded in 1854, Lincoln University is the first HBCU, and its graduates include luminaries such as former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Langston Hughes.

JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY

In a surprise move, Dr. Dorothy Cowser Yancy, the longtime innovative and successful president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., announced in June that she would leave her post. A replacement has not been named. "I am leaving on a high note," Dr. Yancy says. "I have accomplished everything I mentioned in my inaugural address 13 years ago with the help of the JCSU Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni and university friends," she said during a news conference in June, where she also discussed the status of the university's $75 million campaign. Under her leadership, the campaign has raised $80.6 million.