History of the College

The history of Paine College is tied to the history of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church. Immediately after the Civil War, Black members of the Methodist Episcopal Church-South formed the Colored (now Christian) Methodist Episcopal Church. Then, realizing the need for an institution of learning for the newly freed persons, Bishop Lucius H. Holsey and other leaders of the CME Church requested assistance of the Mother Church in the organization and support of a school.

In 1880, the Methodist Episcopal Church- South appointed a commission of clergy and lay persons to cooperate with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in establishing an educational institute to train Black ministers and teachers. Bishop Lucius H. Holsey and leaders of both denominations then began work on what Paine College Trustee, the late Bishop Joseph C. Coles, Jr., termed a "holy audacity."

In 1882, each church appointed three of its members to a committee which established The Paine Institute, named in honor of Bishop Robert Paine. The institute was incorporated in June 1883. In January 1884, class began in rented quarters at 10th and Broad Streets in Augusta, Georgia. The present campus site on Fifteenth Street was acquired in 1886.

In 1903, The Paine Institute was re-charted as Paine College. However, there were no public schools for Blacks at that time, and Paine continuedto providesecondaryeducation as well as college work for students. It was not until 1945, when the first public high school for Blacks was opened in Augusta, that Paine discontinued preparatory programs.

Paine College has a long-standing tradition of interracial cooperation. Dr. John Wesley Gilbert, Paine's first student and first graduate, furthered his education at Brown University and Athens, Greece, and returned in 1888 to become the first Black faculty member. Since that time, the faculty has been interracial and international. Throughout its history, Paine has been a distinctively Christian college. It has maintained deep concern for the quest for truth and has been resolute in blending knowledge with values and personal commitment. Paine has been historically dedicated to the preparation of holistic persons for responsible life in society.

There have been 17 presidents over 15 terms at Paine College. They are:

Morgan Callaway

George Williams Walker

1882-1884

1884-1911

John D. Hammond 1911-1915

D. E. Atkins........................................1915-1917

Albert Deems Betts 1917-1923

Ray S. Tomlin.....................................1923-1929

E. C. Peters

1929-1956

E. Clayton Calhoun............................1956-1970

Lucius H. Pitts....................................1971-1974

Julius S. Scott, Jr. ...............................1975-1982

William H. Harris...............................1982-1988

Julius S. Scott, Jr. ...............................1988-1994

Shirley A. R. Lewis............................1994-2007

George C. Bradley..............................2008-2014

Samuel Sullivan..................................2015-2017

Jerry L. Hardee...................................2017-2019

Cheryl Evans Jones ........................ 2019-Present

Upon his retirement as President in 1994, Dr. Julius S. Scott, Jr., was elected President Emeritus by the Board of Trustees. Dr. Shirley A. R. Lewis was elected President Emerita by the Board of Trustees in April 2010.

During interim periods, the following persons served as chief administrators and chairpersons of the interim committees:

Stewart B. Gandy, Chairman

October-December 1970

Canute M. Richardson, Chairman

January-June 1971

Canute M. Richardson, Acting President

March-December 1974

Curtis E. Martin, Interim President

July-December 2007

Samuel Sullivan, Interim President

September 2014-April 2016

Paine College is a member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), having been awarded Accredited Status as a Category II Institution by the TRACS Accreditation Commission on October 27, 2020.