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Vol. XXXIV, No. 7
The Voice of Black Womanhood
Atlanta Georgia-Spelman College
May, 1981
The Spelman Story
A Dedication to the Past and A Toast To The Future
SPELMAN COLLEGE
1881-1981
A Century of Service To
Women Who Achieve
By Diane Moss
Sr. Reporter
Spelman College is a renowned
institution dedicated to the educating of
black women. The school was founded
April 11, 1881 by two women, Sophia B.
Packard and Harriet Giles. They came
south to study the “living conditions
among the freedmen in the south.” Upon
their arrival, they were astonished at the
lack of educational opportunities here in
the south. Determined to do something
about the situation, these two women
commissioned money from up north for
their cause.
They approached churches and
pleaded their case. Medfords First
Baptist Church contributed a sum of
$100.00. It was here that Spelman made
contact with its most generous
contributor, Mr. John D. Rockefeller.
Mr. Rockefeller emptied his pockets and
told Misses Giles and Packard that if they,
would stick with it, they “would hear
from him again.” The two ladies returned
to Atlanta to open their school in the
basement of Friendship Baptist Church
with $100.00 and eleven students.
In L884, the institution came to be
known as Spelman Seminary, named for
Mrs. Harvey Spelman, Mrs.
Rockefeller’s mother. This came to be on
the third anniversary of the school. Later,
the first major construction on the
campus of Spelman Seminary was
underway. It was a $40,000.00 brick
building named for the donor himself,
John D. Rockefeller Hall.
The next major construction project on
the campus was appropriately named for
the hard working and dedicated co
founder Sophia Packard, and was
completed in 1887.
At the time of the new building, Ms.
Packard was working on getting a state
charter for the school. Her work was not
in vain, Spelman Seminary was granted a
state charter in 1888 and as a
demonstration of their gratitude, the first
official Board of Trustees voted Sophia
B. Packard the first president of Spelman
Seminary. Miss Packard died June 21,
1881 at the age of 69. Under the direction
of Miss Packard with the help of Miss
Giles, the school they found ten years ago
had grown from a school of 11 students
held in the basement of a church to an
institution of high learning enrolling 800
students with 30 teachers and property
valued at $90,000.
Harriet Giles assumed the duties of
president after the death of her
constituent. She was to serve as president
of Spelman for the next eighteen years.
Her administration saw many trying
times both locally and nationally, but for
Spelman they were years of progress. In
1901, under the direction of Miss Giles,
Spelman Seminary conferred its first
college degrees and in 1906. its 25th
anniversary was celebrated. At this time,
Spelman was fulfilling the needs of
thousands of black women, from grade to
trade to college. On Nov. 12, 1909,
Harriet Giles died in office at age 76.
The next president of Spelman was
Miss Lucy Hale Tapley. It was under her
supervision that Spelman was to
discontinue the elementary school. She
informed the patrons that Spelman
would offer “curricular in secondary
elementary . . . and home economics
education.” The most noted achievement
under Miss Tapley’s administration was
Sisters Chapel, named for Mrs. John D.
Rockefeller and her sister. The chapel was
officially dedicated in May. 1927, by John
D. Rockefeller, Jr. At this time. Miss
Tapley resigned as president of Spelman
College and was named President
Emeritus.
Miss Florence Matilda Read was
named president and served in the office
for 26 years. It was under the leadership
of Miss Read that Spelman began to
establish an endowment fund and use the
interest to defray the cost of operations,
and she also believed that Spelman could
become a “first rate” liberal arts
college. In April 1929,in President Read’s
office, the “Agreement of Affiliation” was
signed by Spelman, Morehouse, and
Atlanta University. And in 1947,
Spelman was placed on the approved list
of colleges and universities. TTiis opened
the doors for Spelman women to the best
graduate schools in America.
Albert E. Manley was the fifth
president of Spelman College and the first
man to hold the position. Dr. Manley
made known his belief that women are as
capable of leadership as men and that
such leadership, to be effective, should be
backed up by knowledge. He emphasized
the achievement of excellence in all
aspects of life. Dr. Manley’s
administration accomplished many
things. For instance, opportunities were
made available for students to study
abroad and to be given leadership
training through participation in an
effective Student Government Associ
ation. Dr. Manley retired from Spelman
College in 1976.
The year is 198 Land Spelman has just
been blessed to celebrate 100 years of
service to black women who achieve. Dr
Donald Stewart is Spelman’s sixth
pj^sident in the school’s 100-year history.
Spelman is considered an institution
among institutions and has only a mild
challenge to survive, because, through it
all, we are family. Misses Packard '
Giles would be amazed, proud, ar
enthusiastic about the future of Sp tmiu n
College.