Voorhees University
Voorhees University was established in 1897 by a young black woman, Elizabeth Evelyn Wright. A former student of Booker T. Washington, Miss Wright, at 23, dreamed the seemingly impossible dream of starting a school for African American youth in Denmark, SC. The college’s historic mission was to provide educational opportunities for young blacks in rural Bamberg County.
Voorhees University is a private, diverse, historically black, coeducational, liberal arts, baccalaureate degree-granting institution affiliated with the Episcopal Church. Located in rural South Carolina, the college serves traditional and nontraditional students primarily from South Carolina and the southeastern region of the United States.
The school changed from Voorhees College to Voorhees University in April 2022.
Voorhees Facts
- One of the top employers in Bamberg County
- Voorhees is the first HBCU founded by an African American woman, Elizabeth Evelyn Wright.
- The College offers each student a comprehensive general education experience coupled with professional education in the values-centered liberal arts environment that supports educational opportunities designed to help prepare students to function in a diverse and increasingly technological society.
- Voorhees is currently the only HBCU in South Carolina to offer emergency management as a major
- We provide recreational use of our gym to local students and community members.
- Voorhees track is open to the public and is where many community members and local school teams come to walk or run throughout the day.
- Our WVCD 790 A.M. radio station now reaches outside of campus and into Denmark and surrounding areas
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