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Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church. History The history of Dillard University dates to 1869 and its founding predecessor institutions—Straight University (later renamed Straight College) and Union Normal School (which developed into New Orleans University). Straight University Responding to the post-Civil War need to educate newly freed African Americans in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the surrounding region, the American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church founded Straight University on June 12, 1868. Straight University also offered professional training, including a law department from 1874 to 1886. Its graduates participated in local and national Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction era civil rights struggles. Straight University was renamed Straight College in 1915, to better reflect the limitations of its curriculum. Union Normal School/New Orleans University The Union Normal School was established on July 8, 1868, by the Freedman's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to train teachers. The Society also recruited teachers in the North to work in the South educating freedmen and their children. In addition to Straight University, the AMA helped found several other historically black colleges and universities, such as Clark Atlanta University, Fisk University, Hampton University, Howard University (with Freedmen's Bureau), Huston-Tillotson University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Talladega College, and Tougaloo College. Straight University and Union Normal School later became known and developed as Straight College and New Orleans University, respectively. Both schools offered education for elementary-level teachers, but quickly enlarged their curricula to include secondary, collegiate, and professional-level instruction. New Orleans University operated a secondary school, Gilbert Academy. By the 1890s, the university offered professional medical training. It included a school of pharmacy, the Flint Medical College, and the Sarah Goodridge Hospital and Nurse Training School. After the medical college was closed in 1911, the Flint Goodridge Hospital emerged and continued nurse training. "A Great Negro University in New Orleans": 1930–1935 Local Black and White leaders felt there was a need to develop a larger, more notable African-American institution of higher learning in New Orleans and the greater South. Due to economic hardships and rounds of negotiations between the two institutions, Straight College and New Orleans University chartered Dillard University on June 6, 1930. Named after James H. Dillard, the new university was created to "... offer a traditional liberal arts curriculum—rather than nonprofessional, vocational training" and emphasize a close engagement with the Black community through "various education extension programs, societies, and clubs." Its development was tempered by the Jim Crow era. Many local whites took issue with the possibility of a black president presiding over white faculty members. The increased numbers of African-American bus riders in the Gentilly area, as students started attending classes, disturbed some white residents. Edgar B. Stern Sr, an influential and diplomatic member of Dillard's board of trustees, suggested Will W. Alexander as a compromise candidate for president. A white Southern preacher, he became Dillard's first acting president (1935–1936). His experience as the director of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation proved valuable. Dillard University opened its doors in the fall of 1935, and was able to attract prominent scholars such as Horace Mann Bond, psychology and education; Frederick Douglass Hall, music; Lawrence D. Reddick, history; and St. Clair Drake, sociology and anthropology. Hurricane Katrina In August 2005, the campus, not far from the lower levee breach of the London Avenue Canal, suffered extensive flood damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Nelson Hall was destroyed by a fire. A bus fire destroyed belongings of 37 students who were in the process of being evacuated. In spring 2006, the students of Dillard University took their classes at The New Orleans World Trade Center and The New Orleans Hilton Riverside Hotel. As is tradition, Dillard held graduation on the Rosa Freeman Keller Avenue of the Oaks in July 2006. Students returned to campus in September 2006. Ray Charles Program In 2003, musician Ray Charles added a provision in his will to endow a $1 million (~$1.59 million in 2023) professorship of African-American culinary history at Dillard. It is the first such position in the country and is called the Ray Charles Program. 2016 senatorial debate In November 2016, Raycom Media rented a space at Dillard University to host a debate with senatorial candidates, including David Duke. The event was met with opposition; six protesters were arrested. When the rental agreement was made, months in advance, the university was unaware of the candidates. Partnership with Ross University School of Medicine In 2019, Dillard signed a partnership with a for-profit college, Ross University School of Medicine, to increase the number of African American physicians in the US. Scott's donation In 2020, MacKenzie Scott donated $5 million (~$5.8 million in 2023) to Dillard University. Her donation is the largest single gift in Dillard's history. Academics Dillard University offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees in over 35 majors. These majors are organized within four academic colleges, and further subdivided by departments. Undergraduate research The university is a member of the Council of Undergraduate Research and the National Council of Undergraduate Research. Most departments offer courses in methodology, and the university's Office of Undergraduate Research organizes additional workshops on writing proposals, analyzing data, and using human participants. Students can participate in A Katrina Recovery Initiative (AKRI), Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LAMP), and the Undergraduate Research & Creative Work Competition. The university also produces the Dillard University Journal of Undergraduate Research (DUJOUR), which publishes the findings and articles of finished undergraduate research projects. Institute of Jazz Culture (IOJC) The Institute of Jazz Culture was established in 2002 by founding director, Irvin Mayfield at the intersection of community, jazz and education. Under the current leadership of Edward Anderson, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of the IOJC, the institute is producing curriculum and programming on the collegiate and the secondary levels. Dual degree programs Dillard has dual degree programs in multip.... Discover the Sarah Dillard popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Sarah Dillard books.