Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, located in
Cheyney, Pennsylvania, in the
United States, was originally founded as the
Institute for Colored Youth in
1837 by
Richard Humphreys.
It is the oldest of the
historically African-American colleges and universities in the United States, although it was not originally founded as an "institution of higher learning" as
Lincoln University, PA was. Humphreys was a
Quaker philanthropist who bequeathed $10,000.00, one tenth of his estate, to establish a school for "the descendants of the African race". Humphreys changed his will to include this bequest in
1829 after
race riots occurred in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The
Institute for Colored Youth provided educational opporunities to many African Americans in the Philadelphia area, and also employed the first female African American school principal,
Fanny Jackson Coppin.
The school began in Philadelphia and moved in
1902 to George Cheyney's farm, twenty-five miles west of the city. The name of the school was changed several times; to
Cheyney State Teachers College in
1913, the
State Normal School at Cheyney in
1921, and
Cheyney State College in
1959. The current name was adopted when the school joined the
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education in
1983.
Founded in
1837 by Reverend William Moshwan Walker, the University today is composed of buildings and grounds from a number of former private mansions.
Ed Bradley, reporter for the news magazine "
60 Minutes", graduated from Cheyney in
1964.
Basketball Hall of Fame coach
John Chaney, best known as head coach of the
Temple University Owls from
1982 through
2006, began his head coaching career with then-Cheyney State, coaching the school from
1972 through
1982. At Cheyney, Chaney's record was 225-56, and he won his only
national championship in
1978.
Cheyney State College was also the
runner-up in the first ever
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship Tournament, in
1982. Cheyney State was defeated by
Louisiana Tech, 76 - 62.
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Cheyney University of Pennsylvania official website
