Coppin State University
Encyclopedia
Coppin State University is a historically black college located in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is part of the University System of Maryland
University System of Maryland
The University System of Maryland is a public corporation and charter school system comprising 12 Maryland institutions of higher education. It is the 12th-largest university system in the United States, with over 125,000 undergraduate, 43,000 graduate and roughly 13,000 combined full-time and...

.

History

Coppin State University was founded in 1900 at what was then called Colored High School (later named Douglass High School) on Pennsylvania Avenue by the Baltimore City School Board who initiated a one-year training course for the preparation of African-American elementary school teachers. By 1902, the training program was expanded to a two-year Normal Department within the high school, and seven years later it was separated from the high school and given its own principal.

In 1926, this facility for teacher training was named Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School in honor of an African-American woman who was a pioneer in teacher education, Fanny Jackson Coppin
Fanny Jackson Coppin
Fanny Jackson Coppin was an African American educator and missionary. Born an American slave, Fanny Jackson's freedom was purchased by her aunt at age 12. Fanny Jackson spent the rest of her youth working as a servant for author George Henry Calvert, studying at every opportunity...

.

By 1938 the curriculum of the normal school was lengthened to four years, authority was given for the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree, and the name of the Normal School was changed to Coppin Teachers College. In 1950, Coppin became part of the higher education system of Maryland under the State Department of Education, and renamed Coppin State Teachers College. Two years later Coppin moved to its present 38 acres (153,780.7 m²) site on West North Avenue.

In acknowledgment of the goals and objectives of the college, the Board of Trustees ruled in 1963 that the institution's degree-granting authority would no longer be restricted to teacher education. Following this ruling, Coppin was officially renamed Coppin State College, and in 1967 the first Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred. In 1988, the College became part of the newly organized University of Maryland System (now the University System of Maryland.)

Coppin's first president (1930–1956) was Dr. Miles Connor. He was succeeded by Dr. Parlett Moore in 1956, who served until Dr. Calvin W. Burnett took over as Coppin's third president in 1970. Burnett served the institution for thirty-three years, until Coppin's fourth president, Dr. Stanley F. Battle, was appointed on March 3, 2003. After Dr. Battle departed for North Carolina A&T State University in 2007, Coppin's fifth president, Dr. Reginald Avery was hired.

Coppin Facts

  • Coppin supplies education to some of the most historically oppressed populations in the United States. Partly for this reason, the school historically has low rates of retention and graduation, with many students taking more than six years to complete BA or BS degrees. Coppin suffers one of the lowest graduation rates among U.S. colleges and universities, with some studies finding that only 19% of freshmen earn their degree.

  • In its 2010 report, "Student Debt and the Class of 2010," The Project on Student Debt at the Institute of College Access and Success (TICAS) recognized Coppin as one of 20 schools whose students graduated with low school debt. Coppin was the only University in the state of Maryland to be recognized in the report.

Student life

Organizations participate in the Student Senate at Coppin State. There is currently a board called the SAPB (Student Activities Planning Board) which plans students events for and by the student body.

Athletics

The Coppin State Eagles play in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a collegiate athletic conference of historically black colleges and universities in the Southeastern United States...

 and in the NCAA's Division I. The school has men's teams in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

, and women's teams in basketball, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

, cross country, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, tennis, track and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

.

In 1997, the Coppin State Men's Basketball team defeated the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

 in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 becoming just the third #15 seed to defeat a #2 seed. In the 2007-08 season, Coppin State became the first team in NCAA College Basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

 history to reach the NCAA Tournament with 20 losses.

Community outreach

Coppin took over nearby Rosemont Elementary School in 1998. Coppin is the only higher education institution in Maryland to manage a public school. Rosemont Elementary is in the Greater Rosemont Community, an area adjacent to the university. In 1997, the Maryland Department of Education (MSDE) had declared Rosemont to be "below acceptable standards." As operator of Rosemont, Coppin hired staff and developed the school's educational program. In 2000, Rosemont Elementary first-graders led Baltimore City in largest percentile gains in first grade reading. In 2003, Rosemont was removed from MSDE's "watch list" citing that Rosemont has "made enough progress to exit the school improvement program."

Coppin operates the Coppin State University Community Nursing Center, a fully equipped medical clinic that offers affordable health care for children and adults that is across the street from the university's campus. Coppin formed The Coppin Academy, a public charter high school for students in grades 9-12. The goal is to encourage young people to attend college.

Accreditation

Coppin is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition, the undergraduate and graduate academic programs are accredited by a number of specialized agencies. Teacher education programs are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education and are approved by the Maryland State Department of Education.

The nursing program is approved by the Maryland State Board of Examiners of Nurses and accredited by the National League of Nursing. The Social Work and Rehabilitation Counseling Education programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education and the Council of Rehabilitation Counseling Education, respectively.

Notable alumni

External links

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