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Samford University
Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. Homewood is an inner-suburb of Birmingham. Samford was founded by Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an independent board of trustees, which requires board members to be Baptists.
In fall 2025, the university enrolled 6,324 students from 44 states, 1 U.S. territory, and 16 other countries, marking the 17th consecutive record-setting year for enrollment.
In 1841, Samford University was founded as Howard College in Marion, Alabama. It was named for the eighteenth-century English philanthropist John Howard. Some of the land was donated by the Reverend James H. DeVotie, who served on the school's board of trustees for fifteen years and as its president for two years. The first financial gift, $4,000, was given by Julia Tarrant Barron and both she and her son also gave land to establish the college. The university also honors the Reverend Milo P. Jewett and Edwin D. King as founders. King and Barron derived much of their wealth, with which they supported the college, from the people they enslaved. The university was established after the Alabama Baptist State Convention decided to build a school for men in Perry County, Alabama. The college's first nine students began studies in January 1842 with a traditional curriculum of language, literature and sciences. In those early years, the graduation addresses of several distinguished speakers were published, including those by Thomas G. Keen of Mobile, Joseph Walters Taylor, Noah K. Davis and Samuel Sterling Sherman. In October 1854, a fire destroyed all of the college's property, including its only building. While the college was still recovering from the fire, the Civil War began. Howard College was converted to a military hospital by the Confederate government in 1863. During this time, the college's remaining faculty offered basic instruction to soldiers recovering at the hospital. For a short period after the war, federal troops occupied the college and sheltered freed slaves on its campus.
In 1865, the college reopened. Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry, an attorney, former US Congressman and Confederate military officer, served as president from 1865 to 1868. He was committed to the cause of broader education, and supported expansion of normal school training.
In 1887, Howard College's board of trustees accepted an offer of land from the East Lake Land Company owned by Robert Jemison, Sr. and relocated the institution to the newly developing community of East Lake, six miles from the center of Birmingham, Alabama. Faculty who remained in Marion formed Marion Military Institute (MMI) on the old campus. MMI continues to operate in Marion.
In 1913, the college became fully and permanently coeducational. Howard College added its School of Music in 1914 and School of Education and Journalism the following year. The college introduced its Department of Pharmacy in 1927. At the time, it was the only program of its kind in the Southeastern United States. During World War II, Howard College hosted a V-12 Navy College Training Program, allowing enlisted sailors to earn college degrees while receiving military training.
After the war, the number of veterans attending the college under the GI Bill boosted enrollment beyond capacity. The college moved to Shades Valley, adjacent to the one-time Edgewood Lake in Homewood, Alabama. Construction on the new campus began in 1955. It opened in 1957. In 1961, the college acquired Cumberland School of Law, one of the nation's oldest law schools.
In addition to the law school, Howard College added a new school of business and reorganized to achieve university status in 1965. Since the name "Howard University" was already in use by a school in Washington, D.C., Howard College was renamed as "Samford University" in honor of Frank Park Samford, a longtime trustee of the school. In 1973, the university acquired Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing. Samford University established a study center in 1984 for students to study abroad in the South Kensington district of London, England.
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Samford University
Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. Homewood is an inner-suburb of Birmingham. Samford was founded by Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an independent board of trustees, which requires board members to be Baptists.
In fall 2025, the university enrolled 6,324 students from 44 states, 1 U.S. territory, and 16 other countries, marking the 17th consecutive record-setting year for enrollment.
In 1841, Samford University was founded as Howard College in Marion, Alabama. It was named for the eighteenth-century English philanthropist John Howard. Some of the land was donated by the Reverend James H. DeVotie, who served on the school's board of trustees for fifteen years and as its president for two years. The first financial gift, $4,000, was given by Julia Tarrant Barron and both she and her son also gave land to establish the college. The university also honors the Reverend Milo P. Jewett and Edwin D. King as founders. King and Barron derived much of their wealth, with which they supported the college, from the people they enslaved. The university was established after the Alabama Baptist State Convention decided to build a school for men in Perry County, Alabama. The college's first nine students began studies in January 1842 with a traditional curriculum of language, literature and sciences. In those early years, the graduation addresses of several distinguished speakers were published, including those by Thomas G. Keen of Mobile, Joseph Walters Taylor, Noah K. Davis and Samuel Sterling Sherman. In October 1854, a fire destroyed all of the college's property, including its only building. While the college was still recovering from the fire, the Civil War began. Howard College was converted to a military hospital by the Confederate government in 1863. During this time, the college's remaining faculty offered basic instruction to soldiers recovering at the hospital. For a short period after the war, federal troops occupied the college and sheltered freed slaves on its campus.
In 1865, the college reopened. Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry, an attorney, former US Congressman and Confederate military officer, served as president from 1865 to 1868. He was committed to the cause of broader education, and supported expansion of normal school training.
In 1887, Howard College's board of trustees accepted an offer of land from the East Lake Land Company owned by Robert Jemison, Sr. and relocated the institution to the newly developing community of East Lake, six miles from the center of Birmingham, Alabama. Faculty who remained in Marion formed Marion Military Institute (MMI) on the old campus. MMI continues to operate in Marion.
In 1913, the college became fully and permanently coeducational. Howard College added its School of Music in 1914 and School of Education and Journalism the following year. The college introduced its Department of Pharmacy in 1927. At the time, it was the only program of its kind in the Southeastern United States. During World War II, Howard College hosted a V-12 Navy College Training Program, allowing enlisted sailors to earn college degrees while receiving military training.
After the war, the number of veterans attending the college under the GI Bill boosted enrollment beyond capacity. The college moved to Shades Valley, adjacent to the one-time Edgewood Lake in Homewood, Alabama. Construction on the new campus began in 1955. It opened in 1957. In 1961, the college acquired Cumberland School of Law, one of the nation's oldest law schools.
In addition to the law school, Howard College added a new school of business and reorganized to achieve university status in 1965. Since the name "Howard University" was already in use by a school in Washington, D.C., Howard College was renamed as "Samford University" in honor of Frank Park Samford, a longtime trustee of the school. In 1973, the university acquired Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing. Samford University established a study center in 1984 for students to study abroad in the South Kensington district of London, England.