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Integration Timeline for the University of Maryland
1856 The forerunner of the present university, the Maryland Agricultural College, is founded to educate the sons of the state's gentleman farmers. 1885 An African-American student graduates from law school. 1930s Women begin enrolling in greater numbers. 1934 Donald Murray, a black male, sues the university after being denied admission to the law school in Baltimore. NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall argues for Murray's admission. The Maryland Court of Appeals orders the university to admit Murray because there are no law schools for blacks in the state, and thus no "separate but equal" facilities. The university also officially opens its professional schools to African-Americans. 1951 During the spring semester, Baltimore resident Hiram Whittle becomes the first black undergraduate student admitted to College Park. While attending the university, he lives in a dorm. Whittle leaves Maryland without a degree and moves to New York to work. John Francis Davis, Myrtle Holmes Wake and Rose Shockley Wiseman are the first blacks to receive master's degrees from the University of Maryland. They take courses on the Baltimore campus but walk and receive their diplomas at College Park's main commencement ceremony. In the fall semester, Parren J. Mitchell becomes the first black graduate student admitted to study at the College Park campus. Mitchell graduates from a one-year degree program in sociology in 1952. He later becomes a congressman. 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education officially rules against segregation in public schools throughout the United States. Two black undergraduates are admitted to the university without incident. 1963 Darryl Hill, a Terrapin football player, is the first black to play
intercollegiate football within the Atlantic Coast Conference--after sitting out
his first year as a transfer student. Other Terp
athletes follow in other sports. 1969 Desegregation is mandated by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights, a directive that remains in effect today. 1986 The Office of Human Relations Programs launches a Diversity Initiative with day-long activities and programs. It serves as a comprehensive, campus-wide endeavor to enhance and promote diversity. 1993 The Diversity Initiative develops into an ongoing, comprehensive university mission. 1994 In the case of Podberesky vs. Kirwan (the Banneker Scholarship case), the U.S. Supreme Court lets stand the decision of a federal appeals court, which struck down the university's Banneker Scholarship program. The scholarship had been designed to recruit, retain and graduate larger numbers of black students. 1995 The Asian, Hispanic and Native American Task Force Report is issued. It shows that although many similarities exist between these three minority groups and their African-American counterparts, many differences also arise from their varied economic, cultural and educational backgrounds. 1996 The "Embracing Diversity" report is issued, estimating that 10 percent of the campus population is gay, lesbian or bisexual. 1997 DiversityWeb debuts on the Internet. Launched in collaboration with the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the site is created as a diversity resource for higher education and the media. 2001 Tasha Inniss, Sherry Scott-Joseph and Kimberly Weems graduate as the first female black students to earn doctorate degrees in mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Sources: The Office of Human Relations Programs and the University Archives
Banner photo courtesy Joseph Douglas Collection, Kansas Collection, Spencer
Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries
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2004 and 2005 University
of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism |
