Clark Atlanta University
Founded with a predominantly African-American heritage, the Clark Atlanta University has long been considered as a comprehensive, urban, coeducational and private institution of higher education. It continues to offer undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees as well as certificate programs to students of varied ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. As its history tells, Clark Atlanta University was established by the consolidation of Atlanta University, which then offers only graduate degrees, and Clark College, a four-year undergraduate institution oriented to the liberal arts.
The Early Days
Prior to the consolidation which resulted to Clark Atlanta University, the Atlanta University which was founded in 1865 by the American Missionary Association was considered as the country’s oldest graduate institution serving a predominantly African-American student body. It had started granting bachelor’s degrees and supplying black teachers and librarians to the public schools of the Sotuh by the late 1870s, and in 1929 to 1930, it began offering graduate education exclusively in a number of liberal arts areas, as well as in the social and natural sciences.
The Clark College, on the other hand, was founded in 1869 as Clark University by the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which later became the United Methodist Church. The university was actually named after Bishop David W. Clark, who was the first president of the Freedmen’s Aid Society and became bishop in 1864. In 1871, the school relocated to a new site and it was only in 1877 that the school was chartered as Clark University.
For purposes of economy and efficiency, the Clark University was decided to join the Atlanta University Complex in 1930s. But, it was only during the 1980s when the Clark College and Atlanta University was finally joined, forming today’s Clark Atlanta University. The consolidation was considered to preserve the best of the past and present, and in July 1, 1988, the Clark Atlanta University was born.
The University Today
The Clark Atlanta University is now well-known throughout the nation as a new and historic University that inherits the rich traditions of two independent institutions, linked over the years by a common heritage and commitment, by personal, corporate and consortia relationships, as well as by location. It specifically serves the student body to provide a quality undergraduate, graduate and professional education that is predominantly African-American and also diversified by students from different racial, ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The Clark Atlanta University, as an institution grounded in the liberal arts, is now highly committed to the development of productive and creative students who succeed or excel in their chosen fields and who become responsible citizens in their respective communities and even the whole world.
To attain such ambitious mission, the Clark Atlanta University continues to attract and maintain a highly devoted faculty that generally meets high professional standards in teaching, research, scholarship, and service. What is more nice about the Clark Atlanta University is the fact that it continue to provide an educational environment on which students are encouraged to learn, thrive and enhance their capabilities for leadership as well as responsible citizenship.
After the consolidation, Clark Atlanta University still maintains a historic relationship with the United Methodist Church and for that they continually promote personal integrity and understanding of others and emphasize sound ethical and moral principles.
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