Livingstone College welcomed its largest freshman class in nearly 150 years this semester, according to the college.
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education reports that Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, are seeing record enrollment while many colleges nationwide see an enrollment decline.
Freshman reflects on choosing Livingstone
College freshman Devin Adams was smiling when he checked into his dorm at Livingstone College this semester. He applied to 30 colleges and was not turned down by any of them but chose Livingstone.
“When I came here on my tour – family that’s all it is. It is just family when I came here. Everybody showed me love,” Adams said.
Adams is now part of the largest freshman class ever to come to Livingstone.
“It’s a big deal cause like we are going up. We are making changes here and my name is with history, that’s how I see it,” Adams said.
Enrollment numbers climb
505 freshmen are now walking the campus, up from 400 new students last year.
“I was excited, I was doing the happy dance,” said Dr. Anthony Davis, Livingstone College president.
Davis said the school has grown by about 70% over the past four years.
“We were intentional about traveling the country last year. As president, I hit 27 cities last year. I was on the road 12 weeks sharing the Livingstone story that there is an HBCU where we are going to help you unlock your potential, unleash your power, and have your purpose unveiled,” Davis said.
Davis also believes the 2023 Supreme Court ruling banning race-based admissions is fueling the HBCU surge.
“That gave HBCU’s like Livingstone an opportunity to go out and tell our story that you can come to an HBCU founded by the descendants of freed slaves who gave birth to an audacious idea and guess what – it worked,” Davis said.
Transfer student cites attention from faculty
Lavin Savage transferred from a non-HBCU in Florida to Livingstone College.
“You get a certain type of attention that you are not necessarily going to get at other places and other institutions. I honestly feel like I came at the right time because Livingstone is on the rise right now,” Savage said.
Housing challenges accompany growth
Record enrollment has brought new challenges. Many students were denied because there was no room to house them, and about 100 students are now on a waiting list.
“We have students in the Hampton Inn – think about this – Livingstone College had to find 70 beds at the Hampton – in addition to that – we have students as far south of I-85 corridor in Concord. We have students in Kannapolis and Concord at no additional expense in fully furnished apartments,” Davis said.
Students describe academic experience
Adams is majoring in math.
“I love all my teachers. They are tough, but it’s tough love,” Adams said.
Savage is on the basketball team and aspires to become a sports journalist.
“Livingstone being as small as it is has created so many opportunities for me already,” Savage said.
President seeks help sustaining growth
Davis said he needs help sustaining the college’s growth.
“I am having dialogue with my county partners as it relates to how they can help Livingstone College sustain this growth because think about this, they have something they can pay attention to – the economic impact has been greatly impacted because Livingstone College moving from surviving to scaling,” Davis said.
Davis said plans for new housing may be coming.
“There are plans for us to build new residence halls plural, but I can’t say more about that, but we are building more residence halls. The plans are ready. The board has approved. We are almost there to make that announcement, but you heard it first,” Davis said.
Students say knowing their school is doing big things gives them pride.
“When you do stuff at Livingstone – you are already on the map. Everybody is paying attention. We are going to be up there,” Adams said.