HBCU Profile: Bethune-Cookman University

Location: Daytona Beach, FL 

Date Founded: 1904

Mission Statement: Bethune-Cookman's mission is to serve in the Christian tradition the diverse educational, social, and cultural needs of its students and to develop in them the desire and capacity for continuous intellectual and professional growth, leadership and service to others.  The University has deep roots in the history of America and continues to provide services to the broader community through a focus on service learning and civic engagement.

Bethune-Cookman University accomplishes its mission by providing quality instruction in an intellectually stimulating environment that nurtures the mind (intellect), the heart (transformative leadership) and the hand (service learning) according to our founder’s motto and the institution’s seal.

History: Bethune-Cookman College, now known as Bethune-Cookman University, was founded in 1904 by Mary McLeod Bethune. While continuing to sustain her legacy of faith, scholarship and service through its relationship with the United Methodist Church, the University has made a commitment to academic excellence and civic engagement. Under the direction of President Trudie Kibbe Reed, the school achieved University status in 2007 with the launch of a master’s degree program in transformative leadership. Bethune-Cookman University offers baccalaureate and master degrees in 37 majors/disciplines through seven academic schools – Arts & Humanities; Business; Education; Nursing; Science, Engineering and Mathematics; Social Sciences and Graduate and Professional Studies.

Famous Alumni: Harry T. Moore, Civil Rights leader and Florida NAACP Secretary; Rodney Chester, Actor; Yvonne Scarlett Golden, educator and the first African American mayor in Daytona Beach; Marjorie Joyner, Inventor of the Permanent wave Machine

Website: Bethune-Cookman University