Wilberforce University

Wilberforce University

Seal of Wilberforce University
Former names	Wilberforce College (1856–1965)
Motto	Suo Marte
Motto in English	By one's own toil, effort, courage
Type	Private historically black university
Established	1856
Religious affiliation	African Methodist Episcopal Church
Academic affiliations	Space-grant
President	Vann R. Newkirk, Sr.
Students	500
Location	Wilberforce, Ohio , U.S. 39°42′27″N 83°52′50″W / 39.70750°N 83.88056°W / 39.70750; -83.88056
Campus	Rural
Colors	Green & Gold
Nickname	Bulldogs
Sporting affiliations	NAIA – Mid-South
Website	www.wilberforce.edu
Carnegie Library (Old Wilberforce University Campus)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Ohio Show map of the United States
Location	1055 North Bickett Rd. Wilberforce, Ohio 45384
Coordinates	39°43′04″N 83°52′55″W / 39.7177°N 83.8820°W / 39.7177; -83.8820
Area	0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built	1907
Architect	David Riebel
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP reference No.	04000610[1]
Added to NRHP	June 16, 2004

Wilberforce University is a private historically black university in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans. It participates in the United Negro College Fund.

Central State University, also in Wilberforce, Ohio, began as a department of Wilberforce University where Ohio state legislators could sponsor scholarship students.

The college was founded in 1856 by a unique collaboration between the Cincinnati, Ohio, Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) to provide classical education and teacher training for black youth. It was named after William Wilberforce. The first board members were leaders both black and white.

The outbreak of the American Civil War (1861–65) resulted in a decline in students from the South, who were the majority, and the college closed in 1862 because of financial losses. The AME Church purchased the institution in 1863 to ensure its survival, making it the first black-owned and operated college in the nation. AME Bishop Daniel Payne was one of the university's original founders and became its first president after re-opening; he was the first African American to become a college president in the United States. After an arson fire in 1865, the college was aided by donations from prominent white supporters and a grant from the US Congress to support rebuilding. Later it received support from the state legislature.

During the 1890s, scholar W. E. B. Du Bois taught at the university. In the late 19th century, it enlarged its mission to include black students from South Africa.