December 12 …
Benedict College is a historically Black, private, liberal arts college in Columbia, SC with over 3,000 students enrolled in nearly 30 baccalaureate degree programs.
Founded as Benedict Institute, under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, and named for its first philanthropist, Bathsheba A. Benedict of Pawtucket, RI, the school was meant in the words of its founder, to prepare men and women to be a “power for good in society.” Bathsheba Benedict donated $13,000 towards the purchase of an 80-acre plantation near Columbia, as the site for a new school to educate the recently freed people of African descent.
Operating in a former slave master’s mansion Benedict Institute opened on December 12, 1870.
The Institute’s original objective was to educate and train teachers and preachers. Because enslaved people had been prohibited from learning to read or write, initially classes were held at the grammar school level including reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, and religion. Later, as the students progressed, the curriculum was expanded to include traditional college disciplines, but also included an industrial department offering carpentry, shoemaking, printing, and painting.
The school opened with a class of 10 male students and one teacher, the Reverend Timothy L. Dodge, a college-educated northern minister who would become the school’s first president.
On November 2, 1894, the South Carolina Legislature chartered the institution as a liberal arts college and changed its name to Benedict College. During the next three and a half decades, the college continued to be led by northern white clergymen.
In 1930, however, the first African American president was appointed. The Reverend John J. Starks, of the Benedict class of 1891, led a succession of African American male presidents through the 20th century. It was not until June 30, 2017, when Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis was unanimously appointed the 14th President did the College have a woman president.
Throughout the 20th century Benedict grew its student body and expanded its programs, increasing its significance to the Columbia region and beyond. By the end of the 20th century, under the leadership of Dr. David Swinton, the College saw its enrollment grow to nearly 3,000 students, making it, in terms of enrollment, one of the largest HBCUs in the Carolinas and one of the largest private colleges in South Carolina.
In 2004, Benedict began developing graduate courses in business and religion to complement its bachelor’s degree offerings in 29 areas.
Benedict College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and master’s degrees. Six of the College’s degree programs hold national accreditation: The School of Education, Social Work Program, Environmental Health Science Program, Environmental Engineering Program, Studio Art Program, and the Tyrone Adam Burroughs School of Business and Entrepreneurship.
Scholars such Benjamin Payton helped bring national attention to Benedict, as did the achievements of its alumni, which included the civil rights activists Septima Clark (1942) and Modjeska Simkins (1921).
Other notable alumni include Harold A. Stevens (1930), an American lawyer and judge who served on the New York Court of General Sessions and New York Court of Appeals, and Jack Bruce Johnson (1970), former Maryland state’s attorney and county executive of Prince George’s County.
Sources:
- Stephen Criswell, “Benedict College” South Carolina Encyclopedia (University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies,” May 17, 2016).
- Benedict College Website.
- Wikipedia contributors, “Benedict College,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed March 25, 2026).
- Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, “Benedict College,” (accessed March 25, 2026).
