Allen University

Overview

Allen University is a private historically Black university in Columbia, South Carolina, founded in 1870 in Cokesbury as Payne Institute by ministers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, including John M. Brown, to educate freedmen. It moved to Columbia in 1880 and was renamed for Richard Allen, founder of the AME Church, with which the university remains affiliated. Allen initially focused on training ministers and teachers before broadening its academic scope; Joseph W. Morris became president in 1885, and by 1898 the school reported nine faculty, 304 students, and 208 graduates. Today Allen enrolls more than 600 students, and its campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Allen University Historic District.

Historic Campus

Allen’s original campus buildings — including Arnett Hall, the Chappelle Administration Building, Coppin Hall, and the Joseph Simon Flippen Library — were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as the Allen University Historic District. Several of these buildings were restored using $2.9 million secured through the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic Building Restoration and Preservation Act; the 700-seat Chappelle Auditorium has since hosted countless community and organizational events.