HBCU Storyteller Spotlight | Simmons College of Kentucky

HBCU Storyteller Spotlight

Simmons College of Kentucky Wins Accreditation, Becomes Kentucky’s Second-Only HBCU.

From Insight News
YVONNE COLEMAN BACH
SPECIAL TO THE NNPA FROM THE LOUISVILLE DEFENDER

“Simmons College is a story of revival.

Founded in 1879 by former slaves as the Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute, Simmons College of Kentucky was the premier liberal arts institution for African Americans in the state. With law and medical departments, a teacher’s school and ministers’ studies, Simmons prepared a number of well-trained Black attorneys, physicians, teachers and ministers and emerged as a top choice for Kentucky’s Black middle class.

But like most Black colleges, it has recently struggled financially.

Under the leadership of President Cosby, who took the helm seven years ago, Simmons has taken several steps to restore it to its original prominence. In 2007, the college regained its original campus after 77 years and relocated to its original site. In 2010, the institution attained candidate status with national accreditor ABHE, making it immediately eligible to receive federal funds under Title IV.

It signed an articulation agreement with the University of Louisville and enjoys partnerships and agreements with Jefferson Community and Technical College, Spalding University and Campbellsville University. Simmons is a signature partner of the 55,000 Degrees, a community-wide effort to add 40,000 bachelor’s degrees and 15,000 associate’s degrees in the Louisville Community by 2020.

Rev. C. B. Akins, a Simmons Trustee, said “The time was right for Dr. Cosby to be at the helm of this school. If I told him he could not swallow an elephant, he would say, ‘I can if I take one bite at a time.’”

With the recent accreditation, Simmons is diversifying its curriculum with new Associates and Bachelor’s Degrees, starting with the 2014 fall semester. Four new degree programs will be added, including Associates Degree in General Studies, Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with the focus on entrepreneurship, Bachelors Degree in Communications with focus on cross-cultural communication and a Bachelors Degree in Sociology with the focus on lifelong wellness. In 2015, Simmons plans to reopen its West Campus, located in the most destitute and deprived area of west Louisville.”