View source for Rust College

{{Short description|Historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi, US}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Rust College
 | native_name            = 
 | image_name             = RustCollegeSeal.jpg
 | image_size             = 
 | caption                = Seal of Rust College
 | latin_name             = 
 | motto                  = ''By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them''
 | mottoeng               = 
 | established            = {{start date and age|1866}}
 | closed                 = 
 | type                   = [[Private university|Private]] [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black college]]
 | religious_affiliation  = [[United Methodist Church]]
 | affiliation            = [[United Negro College Fund|UNCF]]
 | endowment              = $43.4&nbsp;million (2019)<ref>As of June 30, 2019. {{cite web |url=https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2019-Endowment-Market-Values--Final-Feb-10.ashx? |title=U.S. and Canadian 2019 NTSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2019 Endowment Market Value, and Percentage Change in Market Value from FY18 to FY19 (Revised) |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA |access-date=September 20, 2020}}</ref>
 | officer_in_charge      = 
 | chairman               = 
 | chancellor             = 
 | president              = [[Dr. Robert M. Dixon (Interim)]]
 | vice-president         = 
 | superintendent         = 
 | provost                = 
 | vice_chancellor        = 
 | rector                 = 
 | principal              = 
 | dean                   = 
 | director               = 
 | head_label             = 
 | head                   = 
 | faculty                = 
 | staff                  = 
 | students               = 700 to 900 (fluctuates from module to module)
 | undergrad              = 
 | postgrad               = 
 | doctoral               = 
 | other                  = 
 | city                   = [[Holly Springs, Mississippi|Holly Springs]]
 | state                  = [[Mississippi]]
 | province               = 
 | country                = United States
 | coor                   = {{Coord|34.774746|-89.44829|region:US-MS_type:edu|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = 
 | former_names           = Shaw University (1870–1892)<br />Rust University (1892–1915)
 | free_label             = 
 | free                   = 
 | sports                 = 
 | colors                 = Royal Blue & White<br />{{color box|#2c3192}}&nbsp;{{color box|white}}
 | colours                = 
 | sports_nickname        = Bearcats
 | mascot                 = 
 | athletics              = 
 | athletics_affiliations = [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] – [[HBCU Athletic Conference|HBCUAC]]
 | website                = {{URL|http://www.rustcollege.edu}}
 | logo                   = 
 | footnotes              = 
}}

'''Rust College''' is a [[Private university|private]] [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black college]] in [[Holly Springs, Mississippi]]. Founded in 1866, it is the second-oldest private college in the state.  Affiliated with the [[United Methodist Church]], it is one of ten historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) founded before 1868 that are still operating.

==History==
One of the oldest colleges for [[African American]]s in the [[United States]], Rust was founded on November 24, 1866, by [[Northern United States|Northern]] missionaries with a group called the [[Freedman's Aid Society]] of the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]]. In 1870, the college was chartered as '''Shaw University''' in 1870, honoring the Reverend S. O. Shaw, who made a gift of $10,000 to the institution which, adjusted for inflation, is the equivalent of approximately ${{Inflation|US|10|1870|r=-1}},000 in {{#expr:{{CURRENTYEAR}}-1}}.<ref name=Bay>{{cite book |first=Mia |last=Bay |author1-link=Mia Bay |title=To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life of Ida B. Wells |location=New York |publisher=Hill and Wang |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8090-9529-2 }}</ref>

In 1892, to avoid confusion with [[Shaw University]] in Raleigh, North Carolina, the institution changed its name to '''Rust University'''—a tribute to Rev. [[Richard S. Rust]] of [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], a preacher, abolitionist, and the secretary of the [[Freedmen's Aid Society]], who helped found the college. In 1915, the institution assumed the name '''Rust College'''.<ref name=Bay/> Rust College is the oldest of the 11 [[historically black colleges and universities]] associated with The United Methodist Church, the second oldest private college in Mississippi.<ref>{{cite book |first=Levirn |last=Hill |title=Black American Colleges and Universities: Profiles of Two-Year, Four-Year, & Professional Schools |url=https://archive.org/details/blackamericancol0000hill |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Gale Group]] |year=1994 |isbn=0-02-864984-2 }}</ref>

The college welcomed their new President [[Ivy Taylor]] on June 1, 2020.<ref name="WREG">{{cite web|url=https://wreg.com/news/former-san-antonio-mayor-named-as-first-female-president-of-rust-college/|title=Former San Antonio mayor named first female president of Rust College|date=8 May 2020|access-date=4 June 2020}}</ref>

==Academics==
[[File:Rust College Admin Bldg.jpg|thumb|McCoy Administration Building on the Rust College campus]]

Rust College maintains five divisions or departments of study: Division of Education, Division of Humanities, Division of Science and Mathematics, Division of Social Sciences, and the Division of Business.  Degree programs are offered in 16 areas of study.  Upon completion of their studies at Rust, students can receive [[Associate degree|associate]]s or [[Bachelor's degree|bachelor's]] degrees.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rust College - Profile, Rankings and Data|url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rust-college-2433|website=Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com|publisher=U.S. News & World Report L.P.|access-date= February 8, 2017}}</ref>

Rust College operates on what is called a module system, which is an 8-week semester class system that allows the college to constantly enroll a steady stream of transfer students every 8 weeks.

== Campus ==
Rust College occupies approximately {{convert|126|acre|ha|abbr=on}}.  Some buildings on campus were erected in the mid-1800s, such as the alumni and public relations center. Others were recently built, such as the Hamilton Science Center, a three-story addition to the McDonald Science Building.  In 2008, Rust College acquired the campus of the former [[Mississippi Industrial College]], located adjacent to the campus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mississippi-umc.org/newsdetail/200894|title=Rust College buys land across street|website=Mississippi-umc.org|access-date=May 23, 2017}}</ref>  

In 2011, the college acquired Airliewood, an antebellum former slave plantation estate located near Rust College campus. Built in 1858, Airliewood served as living quarters for [[Ulysses S. Grant]] during the Civil War, and currently serves as the official residence of the college president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rustcollege.edu/about_rust.html|title=Rust College - Where Tomorrow's Leaders Are Students Today|website=Rustcollege.edu|access-date=May 23, 2017}}</ref> There are five gender-segregated dorms, with about 900 spaces. Two historic markers honoring the Council of Federated Organizations and those involved in the 1964 Freedom Summer Project in Holly Springs were unveiled on campus in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southreporter.com/index.php/news/91-civil-rights-corner-gets-markers |title=Civil Rights corner gets markers - South Reporter |access-date=May 17, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609174810/http://www.southreporter.com/index.php/news/91-civil-rights-corner-gets-markers |archive-date=June 9, 2016 }}</ref>

== Students ==
About 70% of students are in a traditional age range of 18 to 21, and 10% are age 25 or older.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Rust College Diversity: Racial Demographics & Other Stats|url=https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/rust-college/student-life/diversity/|access-date=2022-02-12|website=www.collegefactual.com|language=en}}</ref> About 35% of students are from Mississippi, 30% from [[Tennessee]], and 15% from [[Illinois]].<ref name=":1" />

== Athletics ==
The Rust athletic teams are called the Bearcats. The college is a member of the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics]] (NAIA), primarily competing in the [[HBCU Athletic Conference]] (HBCUAC), formerly the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC), since the 2018–19 academic year, after spending as an [[NAIA independent schools|NAIA Independent]] within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) during the 2017–18 school year when they joined the NAIA. The Bearcats previously competed in the [[NCAA Division III]] ranks as an [[NCAA Division III independent schools|NCAA D-III Independent]] until after the 2016–17 school year; and in the [[Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]] (SIAC) from 1978–79 to 1987–88, which is currently an [[NCAA Division II]] athletic conference.

For certain single sports, the Rust Bearcats softball team competed in the defunct D-III [[Great South Athletic Conference]] (GSAC) as an affiliate member from 2013–14 to 2014–15.

Rust competes in 11 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, tennis and track & field (outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, softball, tennis, track & field (outdoor) and volleyball.

===Accomplishments===
In 1984, the women's basketball team won their first [[NCAA Women's Division III Basketball Championship|national championship]] with a 51-49 win over [[Elizabethtown College]].

==Notable alumni==
* [[Larry Anderson (basketball)|Larry Anderson]], basketball coach for MIT<ref name="Cleveland">{{cite news |last1=Cleveland |first1=Rick |title=From Macon to MIT: Larry Anderson's Amazing Story |url=https://mississippitoday.org/2019/06/04/from-macon-to-mit-larry-andersons-amazing-story/ |access-date=5 June 2019 |date=June 4, 2019}}</ref>
* [[Lucie Campbell]] (1885–1963), composer, hymnwriter
* [[Alvin Childress]] (1907–1986), actor
* [[Melerson Guy Dunham]] (1904–1985), educator, civil and women's right activist, historian
* [[Ruby Elzy]] (1908–1943), operatic soprano
* [[Amos T. Hall]] (1896–1971), lawyer, judge, and civil rights leader
* [[Perry Wilbon Howard II|Perry Wilbon Howard]] (1877–1961), attorney, assistant U.S. attorney general, Mississippi Republican chairman 
* [[Leslie B. McLemore]] (born 1940), civil rights activist, political scientist, interim mayor of [[Jackson, Mississippi]]
* [[Godwin Maduka]] MD and founder of Las Vegas Pain Institute and Medical Center
* [[Helen Caldwell Day Riley]] (1926-?), book author and hospitality house founder in the Catholic Worker tradition
* [[Alexander Preston Shaw]] (1879–1966), Methodist bishop
* [[Anita Ward]] (born 1957), disco singer
* [[Ida B. Wells]] (1862–1931), newspaper editor, activist, cofounder of the [[NAACP]]
* [[Willie Mitchell (musician)|Willie Mitchell]] (1928–2010), record executive, musician, producer
*[[Susie Revels Cayton]] (1870–1943), activist, journalist, editor, writer

==See also==
{{Portal|Mississippi|United States}}
* [[WURC]] Rust College's public radio station

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Robinson, Marco Tyrone, "'By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them': Civil Rights Activism at Rust College and in Marshall Country, 1957–1964" (PhD dissertation, University of Mississippi, 2010). DA3447108.

==External links==
* [http://www.rustcollege.edu Official website]
* [https://rustathletics.com Official athletics website]

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{{Private Colleges and Universities in Mississippi}}
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[[Category:Rust College| ]]
[[Category:Historically black universities and colleges in the United States]]
[[Category:Liberal arts colleges in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1866]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]]
[[Category:Education in Marshall County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Holly Springs, Mississippi]]
[[Category:1866 establishments in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Private universities and colleges in Mississippi]]