Founded in 1897 by Elizabeth Evelyn Wright-Menafee, who was barely older than some of today's students, Voorhees College has a rich history and a bright future. We're a fully accredited historically black liberal arts college that offers degrees in 12 disciplines – a number that's growing as we grow. Through our long-standing affiliation with the Episcopal Church, Voorhees focuses on developing students spiritually and intellectually.
Voorhees College is a private historically black liberal arts institution affiliated with the Episcopal church, whose mission is to produce highly qualified graduates who coalesce intellect and faith in pursuit of life-long learning, healthy living, the betterment of society, and abiding faith in God.
As the first historically black institution established by a black woman, Voorhees College provides its students with a quality education. The Commission accredits Voorhees College on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Voorhees students participate in various college-sponsored activities, including four national fraternities and four national sororities intramural sports political and religious organizations, honor, service, and leadership societies, the Voorhees College Concert Choir, the Student Government Association, and special interest groups.
The institution offers majors in accounting, biology, business administration, computer science, English, mass communications, criminal justice, health and recreation, sports management, emergency management, childhood development, sociology, and organizational management. Pre-professional programs that prepare students for degrees in medicine and nursing are also available.
The Voorhees Tigers participate in the NAIA Division I in baseball, softball, men and women's basketball, men and women's track and field, and cross country.
No doubt about it: College can be an expensive investment, though one with a fantastic return that you'll reap for the rest of your life. It's an investment many students and their families cannot afford without help.
At Voorhees College, the Office of Student Financial Aid is here to help you find ways to make that down payment on your brighter future. Several programs can help if you and your family cannot pay the full costs: scholarships, loans, grants, and jobs. Many students use various approaches to create the financial aid package that works best for their circumstances. You'll find a complete guide to your options here. The Voorhees Office of Student Financial Aid, located at Wright Hall, helps students find the aid information they need. Our staff also can counsel students and their parents, providing information about what type of state, federal, or private help is available and how to apply for it. We can help determine if you're eligible for financial aid and how much you qualify for. We'll help you through the application process and let you know in ample time how much you're eligible to receive.
Voorhees College is accredited by the Southern Association of College and Schools (SACS). The Accreditation Council accredits Voorhees College's Business School programs for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP).
Majors at Voorhees College are accounting, biology, business administration, computer science, English, mass communications, criminal justice, health and recreation, sports management, emergency management, childhood development, sociology, and organizational management. Pre-professional programs that prepare students for degrees in medicine and nursing are also available.
Inspiration, determination, imagination, faith. All four have been pillar principles in Voorhees College's century-long history of changing minds and changing lives.
That history started with Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, who at 23 was only a little older than today's Voorhees students when she came to Bamberg County. A native of Georgia, Wright had found her inspiration while studying at Booker T. Washington's famed Tuskegee Institute. She said time at Tuskegee gave her a mission in life: being "the same type of woman as Mr. Washington was of a man." Knowing the importance of education, she moved to Denmark and started the first of several rural areas. She survived threats, attacks, and arson.
Wright went back to Tuskegee to finish her degree before returning to South Carolina to try again. Undeterred and envisioning a better future for blacks through education, she founded Denmark Industrial School in 1897, modeling it after Tuskegee. New Jersey philanthropist Ralph Voorhees and his wife donated $5,000 to buy the land and build the first building, allowing the school to open in 1902 with Wright as principal. It was the only high school for blacks in the area.
In 1924 the American Church Institutes for Negroes, which was part of the Episcopal Church, agreed to support the school. It was the beginning of a long relationship between the school and the church, which continues today.
In 1947, the school became Voorhees School and Junior College. In 1962, it was accredited as a four-year Voorhees College.
The original partnership between the church and Voorhees was based on the fact that the church alone cannot nourish and strengthen people without Christian institutions of learning. At the same time, the college cannot effectively guide, educate, and shape young minds without the church's spiritual influence.
Those long-held values set the standard by which the college judges its teaching, scholarship, and service programs today. For the church, Voorhees is both a ministry and investment and a massive benefit to society.
The college strives to balance practical career training with a well-rounded background in the liberal arts. Dating back to Wright's era, there has been a debate between those who follow the philosophy of Dr. Booker T. Washington and advocated education aimed at teaching job skills and those who believe, as Dr. W.E.B. Dubois did, that a liberal education would help young adults develop as leaders. The Voorhees curriculum today is a mix of the two views.
According to its mission statement, Voorhees students today combine intellect and faith as they prepare for professional careers. They learn to thrive in a diverse global society while pursuing life-long learning, healthy living, and abiding faith in God. They aim to improve their communities, society, and themselves.
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