Rufus B. Atwood

Rufus B. Atwood (1897-1983) was the sixth and longest-serving president of Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky.[3] He was one of the first African-Americans to hold a high position at a major academic institution.

Rufus B. Atwood
President, Kentucky State University
In office
1929–1962
Preceded byGreen Pinckney Russell[1]
Succeeded byCarl McClellan Hill
Personal details
Born(1897-03-15)March 15, 1897
Hickman, Kentucky
DiedMarch 18, 1983(1983-03-18) (aged 86)
Frankfort, Kentucky
Resting placeFrankfort Cemetery
SpouseMabel Campbell
EducationFisk University (Bachelor's)
Iowa State University (Bachelor's)
University of Chicago (Master's)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
UnitNegro Signal Corps[2]
AwardsBronze Star Medal

Early life

Born Rufus Ballad Atwood in Hickman, Kentucky, he attended Fisk Academy and Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, graduating in 1920 with a bachelor's degree in biology after interrupting his studies to serve a volunteer enlistment in the United States Army during World War I[4] where he received a Bronze Star Award.[5] Atwood also received a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in 1923 and his master's degree from University of Chicago.[6]

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
  1. "Past Presidents | Kentucky State University". kysu.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  2. Gerald L., Smith (2015). The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. University Press of Kentucky. p. 28. ISBN 9780813160658. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  3. "Rufus B. Atwood (1897-1963) •". 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  4. 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.
  5. "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.
  6. "Our Namesake | Kentucky State University". kysu.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  7. Smith, Gerald L. (February 8, 1994). A Black Educator in the Segregated South: Kentucky's Rufus B. Atwood. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1856-5. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020 – via Google Books.
  8. "Our Mission | Kentucky State University". kysu.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-10.


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