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'Cheyney University of Pennsylvania', located in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, in the United States, was founded as the 'Institute for Colored Youth' in 1837 by Richard Humphreys.

Contents

History

Alumni

External link

History

It is the oldest historically Black college or university in the United States, although it was not originally founded as an "institution of higher learning" as Lincoln University, PA was. Humphreys was a Quaker philanthropist who bequeathed $10,000, one tenth of his estate, to establish a school for “the descendants of the African race”. Humphreys changed his will to include this bequest in 1829 after race riots occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 'Institute for Colored Youth' provided education opportunities to many African Americans in the Philadelphia area, and also employed a number of important African-American educators, including Charles L. Reason and Fanny Jackson Coppin, the first female African-American school principal.
The school began at the corner of Ninth St. and Lombard St. in Philadelphia and moved in 1902 to George Cheyney’s farm, 25 miles west of the city. The name of the school was changed several times: to 'Cheyney State Teachers College' in 1913, the 'State Normal School at Cheyney' in 1921, and 'Cheyney State College' in 1959. The current name was adopted when the school joined the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education in 1983.
Basketball coach John Chaney, best known as head coach of the Temple University Owls from 1982 through 2006, began his head coaching career at Cheyney (then Cheyney State), coaching the school from 1972 through 1982. His record at Cheyney State was 225–56, and he won his only national championship in 1978.
Cheyney State College was also the runner-up in the first ever NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship Tournament, in 1982. Cheyney State was defeated by Louisiana Tech, 76–62.

Alumni

★ Ed Bradley, deceased, CBS News journalist

★ Lieutenant General Ronald S. Coleman, Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs for the United States Marine Corps

★ Bayard Rustin, African-American civil rights activist

★ Josephine Silone Yates, African American writer, teacher, and civil rights advocate

★ Robert Bogle, 1973, President/CEO of The Philadelphia Tribune, the oldest black newspaper in circulation today

★ Jim Vance, 1964, Emmy Award-winning anchorman. Vance was inducted into the Journalists Hall of Fame.

★ Octavius Catto, 1858, Catto was the class valedictorian in 1858 at the Institute for Colored Youth (later Cheyney University). An activist, Catto was influential in getting the 15th Amendment passed in 1870 which gave black men the right to vote. Catto is also the founder of the first black baseball team in the United States (The Pythians, 1867) and the Equal Rights League (Oct. 1864).

★ Rebecca J. Cole, 1863, graduated from the Institute for Colored Youth in 1863 (now Cheyney University). She graduated from Women's Medical College (now the Medical College of Pennsylvania) in 1867 with a medical degree. Cole was the second African-American woman physician in the United States and the first black woman to graduate from the Women's Medical College.

★ Andre Waters, 1984, former NFL player

★ Robert E. Lee, He graduated from the Institute for Colored Youth (presently Cheyney University) in the early 1860s and graduated from Howard University in law, 1873. He was admitted to the Florida bar that year and was one of the first blacks to practice in Florida. He was a member of the Florida House from 1875-1880 and the Florida Senate from 1881-82.

★ Julian Abele, 18?? graduate of the Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheyney University) was a prominent African-American architect. Upon Abele's graduation in 1902 as the first black student in architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, Abele designed or contributed to the design of some 250 buildings, including Harvard’s Widener Memorial Library, Duke University, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Free Library, and many Gilded Age mansions in Newport and New York City.

★ James "Big Cat" Williams, former Chicago Bears player. He was a Pro Bowl offensive lineman. He had a glorious 12-year career with the Bears.

★ Michael Smith, 2006, personal trainer and fitness coach.

External link

★ Cheyney University of Pennsylvania official website