Friday, November 11, 1960
THE CAMPUS ECHO
Page Three
The Story Of N. C. College, Its Founder
Congressional Record,
May 12, 1947
By Extension of Remarks by
the Honorable Carl T.
Durham
(By Tom MacCaughelty)
In a country where even Ne
groes are divided into two
camps over techniques of raising
the status of America’s minori
ties, the North Carolina College
at Durham stands as a living
monument to a Negro who
preaches and practices the philo
sophy that the minority group
should emphasize its duties more
than its rights.
This is not to say that Dr.
James E. Shepard, founder and
president of the college, is fully
satisfied with the attainment -of
his race in North Carolina, non
that he has closed his eyes to the
claims of discriminations against
his people. It is to say that Dr.
Shepard puts little faith in the
efficacy of racial feuds in courts
or elsewhere and much faith in
the friendlier processes of de
mocracy, which he describes as
“that audacious beUef of our
people that in the most ordinary
men there are resident the more
extraordinary possibilities, and
that if we keep the doors of op
portunity open to them, they
will amaze us with their
achievements.”
Symbolic of that definition of
democracy, the college has be
come an open door to opportu
nity for countless Negroes, and
both a producer of and a work
ing place for men of achieve
ment, as the following facts
show: (1) Together with great
numbers o^ needed but less out
standing workers in a wide va-
“rirty of pursuits, the college has
produced such men as A. T.
Spaulding, the only Negro in
surance actuary in the country;
H. M. Michaux, head of the
Union Insurance and Realty Co.
of Durham; R. L. McDougald,
vice-president of the Mechanics
and Farmers Bank, and J. L.
Tilley, president of the Florida
Normal and Industrial School;
(2) out of its 43 faculty mem
bers teaching in the undergradu
ate school, 12 hold Ph.D. de
grees; (3) the college is one of
only four Negro colleges in the
country that is approved by the
Association of American Uni
versities.
The college’s history and
growth offer one of the best
arguments for its founder’s
philosophy of race relationships.
And since one man. Dr. Shepard,
is largely responsible for its in
ception, success, and prestige,'
the story of the college begins
properly with him.
Son of Minister
He was born the son of a
minister on November 3, 1875.
He attended Shaw University in
Raleigh, receiving a Ph.D. from
the department of pharmacy in
1894. That same year he opened
a drug store in Durham. In
1898, he became comparer of
deeds in the recorder’s office,
Washington, D. C., and from
1899 and 1905 was deputy col
lector of United States internal
revenue in Raleigh. Between
1899 and 1905 he traveled the
country as field superintendent
for the international Sunday
School Association.
While working in this capa-
city he became convinced of the
need for trained Negro ministers
to set as leaders for the race, and
soon afterwards set about rais
ing money to establish a train
ing school. (In 1907, he was the
only Negro speaker at the
World’s Sunday School Conven-
In the above sequence, Cynthia Parker, North Carolina Col^
lege’s first student from the 50th State (Hawaii) presents NCC
president. Dr. Alfonso Elder, with a pii|e apple, native fruit of the
island. She then decorates him with a lei, in true Hawaiian fashion,!
and finally plants an “anniversary buss” on the cheek of the startled
but obviously pleased NCC chief executive. Cyntkia is student
number 50 in the 50th anniversary class at North Carolina College
at Durham.
DR. JAMES E. SHEPARD
tion in Rome).
The school, known as the Na
tional Religious Training School
and Chautauqua, was establish
ed in 1910 on a 25-acre tract,
forming part of the present site.
The land was a gift largely of
the white people of Durham. By
1912, 10 buildings had been
erected, two of which, Avery
Auditorium and Chidley Hall,
still stand on the campuS.
Those early years were
characterized by a wealth of
enthusiasm but a dearth of
money. Private donations and
student fees were the institu
tion’s only support, and the lat
ter had to be kept at a mini
mum. Board and room cost $7
per month; tuition $1 for the
same period. A teacher or pro
fessor earned $500 to $1,000 a
year.
Designv;d as a college, it was
found necessary to include a
high-school course; so the insti
tution, at first combined a high
school, 4-year college, training
school for country ministers,
commercial school, and home
economics school. What was to
become, after 37 years and four
changes of name, the North
Carolina College at Durham,
with approximately 1,100 stu-*
dents and over 100 staff mem
bers, began with a staff of 21
persons and 109 students.
Added More Degrees
Dr. Shepard struggled to raise
necessary, funds and at the same
time added more degrees to his
name — D.D., Muskingum Col^
lege, Ohio, 1912; A.M., Selma
University, Ala,, 1913. Nonethe
less, in 1915 the financial diffi^
culties became so great that the
school had to be sold and re
organized. In this second stage
of its development, the institu
tion was known as the National
Training School. Mrs. Russell
Sage, of New York, came to the
rescue by giving enough money
for the property to be bought;
back.
The school had begun to at
tract the attention of observer's
throughout the South, when the
First World War dumped it into
another financial depression. To
insure the survival of the school,
two plans were considered. Onei
was to turn over the control of
the school to one of the several
interested denominational
boards. The other plan, which
was adopted, was to give the
property to the State as a public!
institution. Accordingly, in 1923,
the National Training School be-(
came the Durham State Normal
School.
In 1925 the school experi
enced two important events. A
fire destroyed three important
buildings — the administratioi^
building, the classroom building,
and men’s dormitory. Thesej
were immediately replaced; bulj
of more importance that same
year. Dr. Shepard, with a brand
new D. Lit. from Howard Uni
versity, and others were success
ful in a legislative campaign to
make of the school the first
State-supported Negro liberal
arts college. The school became
the North Carolina College for
Negroes.
Then came the expansion of
the plant, with B. N. Duke con^.
tributing $42,000, the citizens
of Durham $8,000, and the State
$100,000.
But a new crisis arose in
1929, when the legislature con^
sidered the consolidation of the
North Carolina College for Ne
groes with A&T College at
Greensboro. Protests from citi
zens of Durham resulted in the
appointment by Governor Max
Gardner of a factfinding com
mission, whose unanimous re
commendation that the college
be continued at Durham was
adopted.
New Buildings Added
The world-wide depression in
(continued on page 7)
Greetings and Congratulations to North Caro
lina College at Durham on the occasion of your
Fiftieth Anniversary! We are proud of the fact
that your founder. Dr. James E. Shepard, was
an illustrious son of Shaw University. May the
friendly relationship which exists between our
two institutions continue.
Shaw University
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA
Ninety-five Years of Continuous Service
Approved by the Southern Association of
Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Center of Culture—Source of Christian
Higher Education.
The well-rounded academic program offers
courses leading to the A.B. and B.S. degrees in
the following fields of concentration:
Business
Education
Home Economics
Languages and Literature
Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Physical Education
Religious Education
Social Sciences
Training Approved by the Veterans
Administration
A Separate Theological Seminary, located at
Shaw University, offers a three-year course
of studies leading to the degree of
Bachelor of Divinity.
For Information and Bulletin,
Write the Registrar
WILLIAM R. STRASSNER, President