SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY & THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
INTERTWINED LEGACIESIn 1867, the Founding Fathers of Saint Augustine’s University — members of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina — set out to make education accessible to newly freed slaves.
A century and half later, the legacy of providing opportunity and transforming lives through access to a quality education continues at Saint Augustine’s University.
More than one-third of all black priests in the Episcopal Church, including three African-American bishops, are graduates of Saint Augustine’s University, which is one of only two historically Black colleges affiliated with the Church.
FOUNDING FATHERS
FRIENDS OF THE UNIVERSITY
The Right Reverend
Michael B. Curry
The XXVII Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church
The Reverend Hershey Mallette Stephens
The Chaplain of Saint Augustine’s University
The Reverend Sallie Simpson
University Deacon
The Right Reverend
Samuel Rodman
The XII Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and a member of the Saint Augustine’s University Board of Trustees.
The Right Reverend Anne E. Hodges-Copple
The VI Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
Bishop Henry Beard Delany
Saint Augustine’s graduate and the first African American to become an Suffragan Bishop for colored work in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and the second in the United States.
Saint Augustine of Hippo
The Patron Saint of SAU is Saint Augustine of Hippo, a Christian and Bishop born in the year 354 AD in Thagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria), Africa.
PORTRAITS IN THE CHAPEL OF AFRICAN AMERICAN BISHOPS
The Rev. George Christopher Cooper
The Rev. George Christopher Cooper was a faculty member and deacon at Saint Augustine’s University.The memorial window in his honor was dedicated by his wife, Anna Julia Cooper
The Rev. Charles Avery
The Rev. Charles Avery was a Methodist minister and one of the initial benefactors of Saint Augustine’s Normal School.The memorial window on the west side of the chapel is named in his honor.The Rev. Avery died in 1854 and left his estate to be used for the education of slaves.In 1867, the Rev. Dr. J. Brinton Smith worked with Attorneys King and Howe in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to negotiate a donation of $25,000 to Saint Augustine’s Normal School.
The Rev. Dr. J. Brinton Smith
The Rev. J. Brinton Smith, D.D. was an incorporator of Saint Augustine’s University and a memorial window in his honor is on the north side of the chapel.He also served as the first principal of Saint Augustine’s Normal School when it was founded in 1867.
John C. Hunter
John C. Hunter and Sarah A. Clark Hunter were the parents of the Rev. Aaron Burtis Hunter D.D., priest and later the principal for Saint Augustine’s Normal School and Collegiate Institute.A window in John C. Hunter’s memory is above the east facing altar in the Saint Augustine’s Chapel.
The Rev. Dr. Aaron Burtis Hunter, D.D.
The flower stand to the right of the altar is dedicated to the Rev. Aaron Burtis Hunter, the fourth principal of Saint Augustine’s School in 1891.As an instructor of theology, he was dedicated to the scholarly development of his students in the field stating, “religion is for the training of . . . body, intellect, heart, and will, not just the expression of . . . emotion. His wife, Mrs. Sarah Lothrop Taylor Hunter was the founder and head of Saint Agnes Hospital and Training School for Nurses. The Benson Library was also started under his administration with a gift from Mary Benson, and Charles Boyer came to Saint Augustine’s College from Yale as a faculty member.He later became the first dean of the college in 1928.
HELP ENSURE THE FUTURE OF SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY
REFER A STUDENT.
Through the Absalom Tuition Grant, qualifying Episcopal students receive a renewable grant worth $8,945 annually — a 50% discount. Students may apply online at bongobaystudios.com or call the Office of Admissions at 919.516.4012 for more information.
GIVE.
To give online, visit bongobaystudios.com/giving
To give by phone, call 919.516.4092
Give via text message:
Text GIVE and your donation amount to 919.373.6799
Mail your check made out to Saint Augustine’s University to:
Saint Augustine’s University
Office of Institutional Advancement & Development
1315 Oakwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27610
Your tax-deductible support helps continue the Founding Fathers’ legacy of making opportunity and education accessible.
