Shaw University Shaw University , founded as Raleigh Institute , is a private liberal arts institution and historically black university ( HBCU ) in Raleigh , North Carolina , United States . Founded in 1865 , it is the oldest HBCU in the Southern United States . Shaw is affiliated with the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and a member of the National Baptist Convention , USA , Inc . which supports the Shaw University Divinity School . Along with Howard University , Hampton University , Lincoln University , PA and Virginia Union University , Shaw was a co - founding member of the NCAA Division II ' s Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( CIAA ) Conference , the oldest African American athletic association in the U . S . The university has won CIAA championships in Football , Basketball ( women ' s and mens ) , and Men ' s Tennis . The university won a 5 - year grant with University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill to create a Partnership for the Elimination of Health Disparities for minorities , and a 7 - year grant with Johns Hopkins University for Gerontological Research . In 2007 , Shaw received $ 2 . 5 million from the National Science Foundation to support its Nanoscience and Nanotechnology program . In 2004 , Shaw University received $ 1 . 1 million from the U . S . Department of Education to develop an Upward Bound Program . Academics . Shaw is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools , the Council on Social Work Education , and the American Psychological Association . The Divinity School is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada as its Kinesiotherapy and Sports Medicine program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs , the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education , and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education . The university offers undergraduate degrees in natural science , business and accounting , religion and philosophy , and education and computer science and graduate programs in Divinity , Religious Education and Early Childhood Instruction . The College of Adult and Professional Education ( CAPE ) has centers in Greenville , Kannapolis , High Point , Rocky Mount , Ahoskie , Fayetteville , Durham , Wilmington , and Asheville . History . Founding to the 1960s . The school was founded by the American Baptist Home Mission Society . Rev . Dr . Henry Martin Tupper came south immediately after the end of the Civil War , establishing the Second Baptist Church of Raleigh ( changed to Tabernacle Baptist Church in 1910 , and now the Tupper Memorial Baptist Church . ) Later Tupper and his Bible study students constructed a two - story church , with one story for the church , and one for the Raleigh Institute , where he taught freedmen . By 1915 , supported by the American Baptist Home Mission , the school had 291 students , evenly divided between men and women . It was renamed Shaw Collegiate Institute after Elijah Shaw , benefactor of Shaw Hall , the first building . In 1875 , it became Shaw University . In 1873 , Estey Hall was built , the first female dormitory in the U . S . on a coeducational campus . Leonard Medical School was founded in 1881 as the first four - year medical school in the South to train black doctors and pharmacists . The first medical school in the state to offer a four - year curriculum , it operated until 1918 . Given their importance in United States educational history , both Estey and Leonard halls have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places . By 1900 , more than 30 , 000 black teachers had been trained . Shaw University has been called the mother of African - American colleges in North Carolina , as the founding presidents of North Carolina Central University , Elizabeth City State University , and Fayetteville State University were all Shaw alumni . The founder of Livingstone College studied at Shaw before transferring to Lincoln University . What became North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University was located on Shaw ' s campus during its first year . U . S . Civil Rights Movement . The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC ) began at a conference held at Shaw University and led by Ella Baker in 1960 . SNCC was created to coordinate activities among numerous civil rights groups , support civil rights leaders and publicize their activities . SNCC played a strong role in Freedom Summer and the voter registration drives in Mississippi during 1964 and 1965 . 1980s to present . By the mid - 1980s , enrollment declined and the university was deeply in debt . President Talbert O . Shaw ( 1988 – 2003 ) ( not related to the namesake ) increased the student body from 1 , 600 to 2 , 700 , restructured debt and created the Raleigh Business and Technology Center . In the 1990s , Shaw ran a successful capital campaign to renovate historic buildings and construct new campus facilities , including the Talbert O . Shaw Center for Teachers ' Education . In 2005 , SUDS received a 10 - year accreditation from the Association for Theological Schools and began construction on the Center for Early Childhood Education , Research and Development . Another example of new directions is that the university is collaborating with the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill on a Partnership for the Elimination of Health Disparities Center . As noted by Dr . Daniel Howard , center co - director at Shaw University , establishing the research resources at Shaw , meant that " more African American college students can become health researchers , which is a definite plus when trying to eliminate disparities . " Shaw University is also a member of the Cooperating Raleigh Colleges ( CRC ) Program . This intercollegiate program is a consortium to pool resources of courses and programs , material , and professors for the sake of providing effective education to all the students . The participating colleges are Shaw University , North Carolina State University , Saint Augustine ' s College , Wake Technical Community College , Peace College , and Meredith College . Study of World War II service of black veterans . Shaw University led a research study to investigate why no black veterans of WWII had been awarded the Medal of Honor . The study concluded that racial discrimination had contributed to the military ' s overlooking the contributions of black soldiers . The 272 - page study recommended ten soldiers whose military records suggested they deserved the Medal of Honor . In January 1995 , the team ’ s findings were sent to the U . S . Department of Defense . In April 1996 , the department agreed that seven of the ten soldiers should be awarded the Medal of Honor . All ten had been awarded other medals during the war years . President Bill Clinton awarded the Medals of Honor on January 13 , 1997 . The department ' s decision in response to Shaw ' s study marked only the third time that the military re - evaluated military records to award the Medal of Honor . Only one of the seven nominees , 1st Lt . Vernon Baker of St . Maries , Idaho , was alive to receive his medal . Those who were awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously were : 1st Lt . Charles L . Thomas of Detroit , Michigan ; Pvt . George Watson of Birmingham , Alabama ; Staff Sgt . Edward A . Carter Jr . of Los Angeles , California ; 1st Lt . John R . Fox of Boston , Massachusetts ; Pfc . Willy F . James Jr . of Kansas City , Kansas ; and Staff Sgt . Ruben Rivers of Tecumseh , Oklahoma . Campus Life . Athletics . Shaw University is a member and co - founder of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II ' s Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( CIAA ) Conference . Shaw University ' s Basketball team participates in the CIAA annual Basketball Tournament , which is the third most attended athletic event in collegiate sports after the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East tournaments . Shaw fields 14 varsity athletic teams including teams in men ' s basketball , women ' s basketball , football , tennis , baseball , cheerleading , men ' s and women ' s track and field , volleyball , golf , and bowling . Extracurricular activities . In 2002 , Shaw University ' s men ' s basketball team won the CIAA championship . Also the lady ' s basketball team , won the 2008 CIAA championship . The football team , reestablished by Dr . Clarence G . Newsome in 2002 , played at the Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham , North Carolina through the 2008 season . In 2009 , the team relocated their home games to Millbrook High School in Raleigh . The 2011 season will be played at Durham County Stadium . It won the CIAA football championship in 2004 , 2007 , 2008 , and 2010 . The football team has also made the Division II playoffs in 2007 and 2010 . Also in 2011 both men ' s and women ' s teams won the CIAA Tournament making Shaw the last school since Norfolk State in 1975 to win the big three championships in the same year . Shaw ' s Lady Bears won the " NCAA Division II " Championship for the season 2011 / 2012 . ivities = = = There are several organizations and clubs on - campus , including The Shaw Players and Company , the Student Government Association , cheerleaders , intramural and extramural sports , sororities , fraternities , gospel and university choirs . The University also has jazz , pep , and concert bands as well as the COGs ( Children of God ) which represents a wide range of student activities that exist at Shaw University . The university ' s radio station , 88 . 9 FM or WSHA , is one of the popular jazz stations in the triangle . The university supports the Honda Quiz Bowl Team , the Shawensis Literary Club , the Shaw Men and Shaw Women Society , the Divine Nine , the Student North Carolina Association of Educators , the Pre - Alumni Council , and the Shaw Journal Campus Newspaper . These pre - professional organizations provide ways to enhance classroom activities while enjoying the camaraderie of fellow students . Shaw is great . Marching band . Shaw ' s marching band better known as the " platinum sound " was reestablished in the Fall of 2002 along with the reestablishment of the football team . The band has grown from 80 members in 2002 to over 130 members . Shaw ' s marching band has participated in the Honda Battle of the Bands at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta , Georgia . Also , several Shaw student - musicians played the sounds behind the 2002 , Twentieth Century Fox motion picture , " Drumline " . Campus Infastructure . Shaw University consists of 32 buildings and nine additional campuses across the state of North Carolina . As of July 2011 , Durham County Stadium will remain the home of the Shaw University Bears football team until construction plans towards building a new facility on Shaw Farm ( a 40 acre lot donated to the university under James Cheek ' s administration on rock quarry rd . in Raleigh NC and the site of the National Alumni House ) is completed and implemented . The main campus is located in the heart of downtown Raleigh . Five of the thirty - two buildings are national and state historic landmarks which are the Frazier House , Estey Hall , Tyler Hall , Leonard Hall , and the Rogers - Bagley - Daniels - Pegues House . The Campus has a memorial garden in the heart of the campus which is also the location of the tombs of the founder of Shaw University , Dr . Henry Martin Tupper and his wife Sarah and the University Belltower , that was erected in honor of those who came and left the institution , from its founding to its present . The Campus has Three Libraries , The James E . Cheek Library , The TOS Education Library , and the Divinity School Library , that houses over 210 , 000 volumes , 10 , 000 ebooks , and many other sources of scholarly and cultural literature as well as microforms , located throughout Shaw University ( including cape sites ) . Also , the Raleigh Business and Technology Center is located on Shaw ' s campus . Planned in 1989 , Shaw University city council officials and Saint Augustine ' s College in a joint effort built the current facility on Shaw ' s Campus . Both colleges use the center for classes and community programs . The Campus has four dorms , the Flemming - Kee Men ' s Dorm , the Dimple Newsome Dorm , Talbert O . Shaw Men ' s Dorm and the Talbert O . Shaw Women ' s Dorm . Other resources available on or adjacent to the campus are McDonald ' s , The Willie E . Gary Student Center which houses the Bear ' s Den ( Game Room and Grill ) , and the Cyber Cafe ' . Student organizations . The university has a range of student organizations , including sororities and fraternities , and honor societies . Other organizations include the Shaw Men and Shaw Women Society ( organizations that emphasize development of character ) , the social science club , Swing Phi Swing , the Shaw University National Alumni Association , the Freemasons and the Order of the Eastern Star , the Religion and Philosophy Club , Groove Phi Groove , Iota Alpha Omega Christian Fraternity , and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . Tornados of April 15 – 17 , 2011 . As a result of the massive destruction of the Mid - April 2011 Southern United States tornado outbreak , the university cancelled classes for the semester . As a result of the storm , two dormitories , the student union , and the roof of Estey hall were severely damaged . There were minor injuries but no one was seriously hurt .