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Clark College’s First 100 Years
Clark College, founded in the
chaotic conditions of the
post-Civil War era. enters its
second hundred years with the
same mission—to provide culture
and service to the human family.
The institution, founded in
1869 by the Freedman’s Aid
Society of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, arose out of
efforts to bring education to
people making the transition
from bondage to freedom.
The type of training
envisioned by the founders can
be seen in an allusion to the first
instructors who were described as
being “good scholars and
successful teachers” who were
expected to “labor in the Sunday
school as well as day schools.”
When the Freedman’s Aid
Society became a permanent
organ of the Methodist Church in
1872, it retained its original
purpose. The purpose was stated
in the charter granted in 1877 as
that of promoting learning, the
acquisition of knowledge and the
fostering of piety and virtue.
The institution was chartered
as Clark University. The term
“University” suggested the kind
of school desired by the
founders. A school of theology, a
school of music, a school of
industrial arts, and a “college
department” became in time
parts of the university.
From 1869 to 1872 Clark
University was located in the
Summer Hill section of Atlanta.
Formal operation began in 1871
under the presidency of Reverend
I. Marcy.
The acquisition of
approximately four hundred and
fifty acres of land in South
Atlanta by Bishop Gilbert Haven,
and the moving of the school to
that site inaugurated the second
major chapter in the school’s
development.
With the change in location
THIS picture, taken in the early 1920’s, has two presidents of Clark College in it. In the center is Dr. Matthew S. Davage. Dr. James P.
Brawley, who served as president from 1941 to 1965, is second from the right on back row.
there came also a gradual change
in concept and purpose for Clark.
Because its academic offerings,
had to be consistent with the
intellectual background and
experience of those whom it
served, the development of the
JMoube of Hrpresentaihjes
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H. R. No. 86
By: Messrs. Brown of the 110th, Daugherty of the 109th and Dean of the 76th
A RESOLUTION
Congratulating and extending good wishes to Clark College: and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS, Clark College is currently observing the centennial of its
founding in the City of Atlanta; and
WHEREAS. Clark College has achieved the goal of its founders: to become
"in the course of years, an institution of high rank"; and
WHEREAS, Clark College has provided quality undergraduate training for
its students during its long and distinguished history; and
WHEREAS, Clark College graduates have, by their skills and talents, en
riched this State and Nation in a wide variety of useful occupations; and
WHEREAS, Clark College continues to serve with distinction the youth of
this State and Nation; and
WHEREAS, Clark College has gained national renown for its innovative
efforts to constantly improve the quality of its educational services.
NOW. THEREFORE. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF ^REPRESENTATIVES.
that the members of this body do hereby extend their congratulations and sincere
good wishes to Clark College, its president, trustees, administrators, faculty,
and students, and wish for Clark College another hundred years of successful
history in the service of youth.
IN HOUSE
Read and Adopted
January 23, 1969
■ /£
Glenn W. Ellard
CLERK
“college department” was slow.
The 1879 catalog indicated
the purpose of the University to
be that of training teachers and
preachers and offering “sound
moral and religious instruction”
to all of its students.
Even before the move to the
physical plant in South Atlanta,
an unsuccessful attempt had been
made to make Clark a seminary.
In 1883 the Gammon School of
Theology was established as a
department of the University.
However, Gammon was
subsequently chartered as the
independent Gammon
Theological Seminary in 1888.
The University granted its first
degree in 1883. By 1891 courses
were being offered in such areas
as woodworking, harness-making,
and iron-making. This interest in
vocational education was
gradually replaced by purely
academic training, but there was
essentially no change until 1923
in the philosophy and aims,
which were the same as those of
other comparable institutions of
the time, namely, the philosophy
of the formal discipline of the
mind and the training of the
heart.
The years 1924-1934 were
years of transition, marked by
efforts to get some departments
of the College accredited and to
develop other programs. The
basic philosophy of purpose and
function remained the same, but
efforts to develop a more modern
college brought many changes
which affected concepts in
discipline, philosophy, and
structure of the college’s
program.
The year 1934 saw the
beginning of divisional or
departmental organization of the
institution. The reorganized
curriculum separated studies into
lower and upper levels. The
Division of Languages, Literature,
and Speech; the Division of
Natural Sciences and
Mathematics; the Division of
Social Sciences; and the Division
of Arts had their beginnings.
By 1938 the administration
was advancing the idea of the
“student-centered” college in
which the goals were to
“challenge, stimulate, guide and
counsel students toward the end
of development of a wholesome
and integrated personality.”
It was after this period of
remarkable progress, which
included changes in emphasis and
in curriculum, and increases in
enrollment, that events occurred
which shaped the advent of the
third and current period in
Clark’s history. The opening of
the period was signaled by the
changing of the name of the
institution in 1941 to Clark
College, by the move to the
present location in an entirely
new plant, and by the
inauguration of Dr. James P.
Brawley as seventeenth president
of the institution.
With the changes in
curriculum and in overall
academic emphasis, the change of
name was inevitable. In addition,
the move to the Atlanta
University Center resulted in
beneficial associations with the
other colleges.
This period, which began with
acquisition of an entirely new
campus, has been the most
fruitful in Clark’s history. It has
seen the institution gradually
i n crease its endowment and
acquire full membership in the
Southern Association of Colleges
and Secondary Schools. When
this recognition came in 1957,
Clark was one of fifteen
institutions serving primarily
Negro students to receive this
recognition.
Clark College is continuing to
grow. It has maintained a steady
physical expansion program; it
has begun participation in foreign
travel programs for students;
through curriculum changes it has
enriched course offerings; it is
receiving increased alumni
support; and it is making strides
in various areas which bespeak
significant progress for another
century.