Howard University in Washington, D.C., named for its founder, Civil War hero General Oliver Howard, was established in 1866. It is a private university and one of 48 doctoral/research-extensive universities in the country. The Howard University system comprises twelve colleges and schools offering 120 undergraduate and graduate programs, including law, medicine, divinity and education. As of 2011, more than 10,000 students are enrollled at Howard. Its athletic teams compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in the NCAA. The school has seven men's sports teams and ten women's teams. Notable alumni include Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, author Toni Morrison and actress Phylicia Rashad.
Originally known as the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School and organized by local farmers, Grambling State University opened in Grambling, Louisiana, in 1901. After changes in location and curriculum, the school awarded its first baccalaureate degree in 1944. In 1946, Grambling was formally named for P.G. Grambling, a white sawmill owner who donated land for the university. Grambling offers 68 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in five colleges, including colleges of business, education and arts and sciences. Grambling's athletic teams are part of the Southwestern Athletic Conference of the NCAA. The school has five men's athletic programs; Eddie Robinson coached the football team for 56 years and his 408 victories are a Division 1-AA record. Grambling also offers eight women's sports programs. Notable alumni includes Doug Williams, former National Football League quarterback and Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXII.
Fisk University is a small liberal arts school established in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1866 and named for General Clinton B. Fisk, who offered the school former Union Army barracks for use as classrooms. Fisk was the first HBCU to receive accreditation, in 1930, from the Southern Association of Colleges, and the first to have a Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society chapter. As of 2011, Fisk's enrollment is fewer than 600 students, which according to the school is a deliberate attempt to maintain an on-campus environment similar to that of a family. The school offers bachelor's and master's degrees in programs such as mathematics, computer science, and nursing and has pre-professional programs in fields such as medicine, dentistry, engineering and education. Fisk does not have an athletic program but is home to the Jubliee Singers, a student singing group first organized in 1871 that tours around the world. Fisk's alumni includes civil rights activist and scholar W.E.B. Dubois and historian John Hope Franklin.
Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, was established in 1881 and is the oldest African American college for women in the country. It is part of the Atlanta University Center, which includes partner institutions Morehouse College, the Morehouse School of Medicine, Clark Atlanta University and the Interdenominational Theological Center. Enrollment as of 2011 is more than 2,100 students, who have choices of majors such as biochemistry, psychology, environmental science and music. Spelman offers several opportunities for undergraduate research through its Women's Research and Resource Center, with research facilities in fields such as behavioral neuroscience and energy and the environment. The school has seven athletic programs, including golf, basketball and tennis and the teams play in the Great South Athletic Conference of the NCAA. Spelman alumnae include journalist and producer Darralynn Hutson-Bryant and author Tayari Jones.