COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

Set on thirty-eight acres on West North Avenue in northwest Baltimore City, Coppin State University is an historically African-American liberal arts college. A four-year institution, Coppin offers academic programs in the arts and sciences, teacher education, nursing, graduate studies, and continuing education. The fully accredited residential campus serves Baltimore residents and students from around the world. Coppin offers flexibility in course scheduling with convenient day, evening and weekend classes.

Dining Hall, Coppin State University, Baltimore, Maryland, 2004. Photo by Thomas Henderson.

The origin of Coppin State University dates to 1900. In that year, the Baltimore City Board of Education initiated a one-year course for the training of African-American elementary school teachers at what was known as the Colored High and Training School (renamed Frederick Douglass High School in 1925). At Dolphin Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, classes began in January 1901. The program expanded in 1902 to a two-year Normal Department within the high school. "Normal" came from the French ecole normale, and the Prussian normal schools, that influenced American educators to establish norms or standards for the training of teachers. With its own principal, the Department became an institution separate from the high school in 1909, when it moved to the elementary school building at Saratoga and Mount Streets. This facility for teacher training in 1926 was named the Coppin Normal School to honor Fannie Jackson Coppin (1837-1913), educator, missionary, and outstanding African-American pioneer in teacher education.

In 1928, Coppin Normal School moved to the Booker T. Washington High School building at Lafayette Avenue and McCullough Street, and in 1932 to Elementary School no. 132 at Mount Street near Riggs Avenue.

In 1938, the School was renamed Coppin Teachers College with a four-year curriculum and authority to grant the Bachelor of Science degree. Formerly under the Baltimore City Board of Education, the College was placed under the State Department of Education in 1950. The College became Coppin State Teachers College when it moved to its present location in July 1952. It was renamed Coppin State College in 1963 and placed under the Board of Trustees of State Colleges, when the institution's authority to grant degrees became more comprehensive (Chapter 41, Acts of 1963). In 1988, the College joined the University of Maryland System (Chapter 246, Acts of 1988). The System was renamed University System of Maryland in 1997 (Chapter 114, Acts of 1997). In April 2004, the College was renamed Coppin State University (Chapter 63, Acts of 2004).

The University is organized into the School of Graduate Studies, and five Colleges: Arts, Sciences, and Education; Behavioral and Social Sciences; Business; Health Professions; and Honors.

HONORS COLLEGE

Health & Human Services Building, Coppin State University

In the fall of 1990, the Honors Division was established at Coppin State College. In 2004, under Coppin State University, the Division became the Honors College. It administers the Honors Program, and the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program.

HONORS PROGRAM
The Honors Program enrolled its first students in 1981. It prepares academically outstanding students for employment or further study in graduate and professional schools. Students earn an honors citation upon graduation by completing required honors courses and maintaining a high grade-point average.

McNAIR SCHOLARS PROGRAM
The McNair Scholars Program prepares junior undergraduates for doctoral study. With funds granted from the U.S. Department of Education, the Program began in 1989. The Program is named for Ronald E. McNair, Ph.D. (1950-1986), NASA Astronaut, who died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded after launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

COLLEGE OF ARTS, SCIENCES, & EDUCATION

Grace Hill Jacobs Building, Coppin State University

Originally, the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education began as the Arts and Sciences Division and reformed as the School of Arts and Sciences in 2004. When the School of Education joined the School of Arts and Sciences in August 2013, the School of Arts and Sciences reorganized as the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education.

The College of Arts, Sciences, and Education offers most of the core courses included in the University's general education requirements and provides academic programs leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree or Bachelor of Science degree.

Under the College are the School of Education, and five departments: History, Geography and Global Studies; Humanities; Mathematics and Computer Science; Natural Sciences; and Visual and Performing Arts.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CENTER

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Grace Hill Jacobs Building, Coppin State University

The School of Education formed in 1900 with the origins of the University as a teacher-training program at Douglass High School in Baltimore. It later reformed as a division in 2004, and became the Education Unit, relocated within the School of Professional Studies. In 2006, the Unit reorganized as the School of Education. In August 2013, the School of Education was made part of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education.

Four main departments constitute the School of Education: Adult and General Education; Curriculum and Instruction; Health and Human Performance; and Special Education.

COLLEGE OF BEHAVIORAL & SOCIAL SCIENCES

Health & Human Services Building, Room 351, West North Ave., Coppin State University

The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences formed as the School of Professional Studies in 2004. It reorganized under its present name in August 2013.

The College offers programs in Applied Psychology and Rehabilitation Counseling; Criminal Justice; Interdisciplinary Studies; Social Work; and Social Sciences. Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Education, and Master of Science degrees are awarded by the School.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

Grace Hill Jacobs Building, Room 801, Coppin State University

The College of Business originated as the Department of Management Science and Economics within the School of Arts and Sciences. In September 2007, it reformed as the School of Management Science and Economics. In April 2012, it reorganized as the School of Business. It received its present name in August 2013.

Three departments function within the College of Business: Accounting and Management Information Systems; Management and Marketing; and Sport and Entertainment Management. Upon graduation, students receive either a Bachelor of Science degree in management science or a Bachelor of Science degree in entertainment management.

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Grace Hill Jacobs Building, Coppin State University

In 1968, the School of Graduate Studies started when a graduate program in special education was initiated. As programs were added, it became a division of the University and in 2004, was renamed the School of Graduate Studies.

The School of Graduate Studies coordinates programs leading to Masters' degrees in Adult and Continuing Education; Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counseling; Correctional Education; Criminal Justice; Curriculum and Instruction; Human Services Administration; Nursing; Reading; Rehabilitation Counseling; Special Education; and Teaching.

COLLEGE OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Health & Human Services Building, West North Ave., Coppin State University

The College of Health Professions was established in July 2012. Within the College are the School of Allied Health and the Helene Fuld School of Nursing.

SCHOOL OF ALLIED HEALTH
Health & Human Services Building, West North Ave., Coppin State University

The School of Allied Health was formed as part of the College of Health Professions in July 2012.

FULD SCHOOL OF NURSING
Health & Human Services Building, West North Ave., Coppin State University

In September 1974, the Helene Fuld School of Nursing began in the Nursing Division at Coppin State College. The School was named in honor of Helene S. Fuld whose son, Dr. Felix Fuld, established the Helene Fuld Health Trust in her memory. The Trust is dedicated to improving the health, education, and welfare of nursing students.

The Fuld School of Nursing offers undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing. The School also manages the Community Health Center in Baltimore.

COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER

The Community Health Center opened in July 1995 as the Coppin State Nursing Center. In 2005, it became the Community Health Clinic, and in 2007 received its present name.

The Center is a primary-care facility, serving as a clinical rotation for nurse practitioner and undergraduate nursing students. To low-income residents of the neighborhood adjacent to the University, the Center provides health services at reduced cost. The Center also provides health care to the students, faculty, and staff of the School of Nursing.

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