Rufus B. Atwood
Rufus Ballad Atwood | |
---|---|
President, Kentucky State University | |
In office 1929–1962 | |
Preceded by | Green Pinckney Russell[1] |
Succeeded by | Carl McClellan Hill |
Personal details | |
Born | Negro Signal Corps[2] | March 15, 1897
Awards | Bronze Star Medal |
Rufus Ballad Atwood (1897—1983) was an American educator, academic administrator, and university president. He was the sixth and longest-serving president of Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky.[3]
Early life
Rufus Ballad Atwood was born in 1897, in
Career
In 1923, Atwood became professor (and later dean) of agriculture at Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College in Texas, and in 1929 he accepted the presidency of Kentucky State College for Colored Persons where he remained until 1962, gaining the title of the longest-serving president of Kentucky State University for his 33 years of service. Under his administration, Kentucky State achieved accreditation as a four-year college. Atwood was awarded honorary degrees from Lane College and Monrovia College and Industrial Institute,[6] and in 1962 he was awarded the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Citizen Medallion.[2]
During the 1940s and 1950s when schools were being desegregated, causing the closure of black-only schools, Atwood fought hard to keep Kentucky State open, relevant, and expanding. Five months after the May 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation, Kentucky State enrolled its first white student.[7] Kentucky State University's Atwood Institute for Race, Education, and the Democratic Ideal is named for him.[8]
References
- ^ "Past Presidents | Kentucky State University". kysu.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ ISBN 9780813160658. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "Rufus B. Atwood (1897-1963) •". 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ Thompson, Susan (February 27, 2020). "African-Americans in the U.S. Army Signal Corps". www.army.mil. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ^ "Remembering First Sergeant Rufus Ballard Atwood | A Bronze Star For A Heart of Gold | Kentucky State University". kysu.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ a b "Our Namesake | Kentucky State University". kysu.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ISBN 0-8131-1856-5. Archivedfrom the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Our Mission | Kentucky State University". kysu.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.