Founded in 1866, Rust College is the oldest historically Black college or university in Mississippi, the second-oldest private college in the state, and one of the oldest HBCUs still operating in the United States. For 160 years, the College has remained committed to educational access, academic excellence, spiritual development, leadership, and service.

The history of Rust College began during one of the most transformative periods in American history. The Civil War had ended only a year earlier, and formerly enslaved African Americans throughout the South were pursuing educational opportunities that had long been denied to them. Schools established for newly freed people became important centers of learning, independence, civic participation, community development, and hope.

Against this historical backdrop, the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church established a school in Holly Springs, Mississippi. The Society was part of a larger movement among churches, missionaries, educators, and community leaders to provide education and other forms of assistance to formerly enslaved people during Reconstruction.

The school that would become Rust College opened in Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, now Asbury United Methodist Church. The congregation was pastored by the Rev. Samuel Moses, an African American minister whose leadership helped provide an important foundation for the new school.

Northern missionaries worked alongside members of the local African American community to offer instruction to children and adults of all ages. Because many of the school’s earliest students had previously been denied access to formal education, instruction initially focused on elementary subjects, including reading, writing, arithmetic, and other foundational skills.

From its beginning, the institution represented far more than a classroom. It became a place where newly freed people could gain knowledge, strengthen their families, participate more fully in civic life, and prepare themselves to build stronger communities.

The school quickly developed a strong relationship with the African American community of Holly Springs. In 1867, only one year after classes began, the first building on the present-day campus was erected.

Local African American carpenters, craftsmen, and builders helped construct the building. Among them was James Wells, the father of pioneering journalist, educator, and civil rights advocate Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Their participation reflected the determination of formerly enslaved people not only to receive an education but also to build and sustain the institutions that would serve future generations.

The establishment of a permanent campus demonstrated that the school was not intended to be a temporary response to the conditions following the Civil War. It was becoming an enduring institution dedicated to education, faith, advancement, and service.

Over time, the campus expanded from its modest beginnings into a center of higher learning. New buildings, academic programs, student activities, and community initiatives were developed as the institution responded to the changing educational needs of its students, Mississippi, and the nation.

The institution’s name changed several times as its mission and academic programs developed.

In 1870, the school was officially chartered as Shaw University in honor of the Rev. S. O. Shaw, who contributed $10,000 to support the young institution. At the time, this gift represented a substantial investment in the education of African Americans and helped strengthen the school during its formative years.

As the institution grew, confusion occasionally arose between Shaw University in Holly Springs and another institution bearing the same name in North Carolina. To establish a clearer identity, the school’s name was changed in 1892 to Rust University.

The new name honored the Rev. Richard S. Rust of Cincinnati, Ohio, a Methodist minister, educator, abolitionist, and secretary of the Freedmen’s Aid Society. His work supported the establishment and development of educational institutions for formerly enslaved people throughout the South.

In 1915, the institution adopted the name Rust College. That name has remained for more than a century and has become associated with educational opportunity, perseverance, faith, leadership, and service.

Rust College began by providing elementary instruction to children and adults. As its students advanced, the institution expanded its curriculum to include secondary-school and college-level courses.

In 1878, Rust celebrated an important academic milestone when its first two students graduated from the college department. Their achievement demonstrated the institution’s growing ability to provide advanced education during a period when opportunities for African Americans remained severely limited.

For many years, the College operated elementary, secondary, and collegiate programs simultaneously. This structure allowed students to progress from foundational studies through higher education within the same institution.

As public educational opportunities for African American children gradually became more widely available, Rust adjusted its academic structure. The elementary division was discontinued in 1930. The high school division continued for more than two additional decades before closing in 1953.

The conclusion of the elementary and high school programs allowed Rust College to concentrate more fully on its role as an institution of higher education. Through the years, the College strengthened its liberal arts curriculum and prepared students for careers, graduate and professional education, ministry, civic leadership, and service.

Rust College’s history has been shaped by generations of presidents, faculty members, staff members, trustees, alumni, church leaders, students, and supporters. Together, they sustained the institution through Reconstruction, segregation, economic hardship, two world wars, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, technological change, and the continuing transformation of higher education.

The College’s first six presidents guided the institution through its formative years. Under their leadership, the school developed from a church-based educational mission into a chartered institution offering elementary, secondary, and collegiate instruction.

The Rev. A. C. McDonald served as the institution’s founding president from 1866 to 1876. He was succeeded by the Rev. A. W. Hooper, D.D.; the Rev. Charles E. Libby, D.D.; the Rev. W. W. Foster Jr.; the Rev. James T. Dockings, Ph.D.; and the Rev. George Evans, D.D.

During this era, the institution established a permanent campus, graduated its first college students, expanded its academic offerings, and progressed through its identities as Shaw University, Rust University, and, ultimately, Rust College.

A significant transition occurred in 1920 when Dr. Matthew S. Davage became the seventh president and the first African American to lead Rust College. His appointment marked an important milestone for an institution established primarily to educate formerly enslaved African Americans and their descendants.

In 1924, Dr. Lee Marcus McCoy succeeded Dr. Davage. A member of the Rust College Class of 1905, Dr. McCoy became the eighth president and the first alumnus to serve as president of his alma mater.

Dr. McCoy guided Rust College for 33 years, the longest presidential tenure in the institution’s history. His administration led the College through the Great Depression and other periods of considerable financial difficulty. Through fundraising, agricultural initiatives, campus-based enterprises, and an unwavering commitment to academic excellence, the College continued its mission despite the economic challenges confronting the nation and many private Black colleges.

Following the destruction of Rust Hall by fire in 1940, Dr. McCoy led efforts to preserve the Holly Springs campus and construct a new administration building. The building was later named the McCoy Administration Building in recognition of his distinguished leadership and service. It remains an enduring symbol of Rust College’s perseverance and institutional progress.

Dr. Earnest A. Smith, a member of the Rust College Class of 1937, became the ninth president in 1957. His administration coincided with the height of the civil rights movement and a period of profound social change throughout Mississippi and the nation.

Under Dr. Smith’s leadership, Rust College remained an important center of education, civic engagement, and community leadership. The College supported efforts to expand voting rights, promote racial cooperation, and bring an end to segregation. Rust students, faculty members, and alumni participated in the broader struggle for equality while continuing the institution’s academic mission.

In 1967, Dr. William A. McMillan became the tenth president. During his 26-year administration, Rust College strengthened its academic programs, expanded its physical campus, and achieved important institutional milestones. The College received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and developed new facilities to support academics, athletics, communications, student life, and community service.

Dr. McMillan’s administration helped position Rust College to meet the changing educational needs of students during the final decades of the twentieth century.

In 1993, Dr. David L. Beckley, a member of the Rust College Class of 1967, became the institution’s eleventh president. His appointment continued Rust’s tradition of graduates returning to lead and serve the College that had helped shape their lives.

During Dr. Beckley’s 27-year administration, the College expanded its academic goals, developed new facilities, strengthened community partnerships, and maintained its commitment to accreditation and institutional effectiveness. The campus continued to grow through investments in academic facilities, science education, student services, and programs designed to address the needs of families and communities.

His administration carried Rust College into the twenty-first century while preserving its historic mission as a student-centered, United Methodist Church–related liberal arts institution.

In 2020, Dr. Ivy R. Taylor became the twelfth president and the first woman to lead Rust College. Her appointment represented another historic chapter in the institution’s development and reflected the expanding role of women in higher education leadership.

In 2023, Dr. Robert M. Dixon was selected to serve as interim president of Rust College. A scientist, educator, and alumnus of Morehouse College, Dr. Dixon became the first scientist to lead the College in an interim capacity. His stewardship provided institutional stability and helped position Rust College for its next phase of presidential leadership.

From July 1 through August 10, 2026, Mrs. Cecelia Sawyer, former chair of the Rust College Board of Trustees, served as interim president. Drawing upon her extensive knowledge of the institution and its governance, she ensured continuity in the College’s administration until the beginning of the next presidential tenure.

Dr. Johnny M. Moore began his tenure as Rust College’s thirteenth president on August 11, 2025.

An HBCU graduate, mathematics educator, and nationally respected higher education administrator, Dr. Moore brought more than three decades of leadership experience to the presidency. Before joining Rust College, he served as chancellor of Arkansas State University–Newport and previously held presidential leadership positions at Philander Smith University and Pierpont Community and Technical College.

His administration is building upon the College’s historic mission while advancing academic innovation, enrollment growth, student success, institutional advancement, workforce development, strategic partnerships, and community engagement.

As Rust College celebrates its 160th anniversary, Dr. Moore’s leadership represents a renewed commitment to honoring the institution’s legacy while preparing the College and its students for a rapidly changing future.

Rust College has maintained a historic relationship with the Methodist Church since its founding. Today, the College remains related to The United Methodist Church and continues to affirm the importance of intellectual development, moral responsibility, spiritual growth, and service to others.

This religious heritage has helped shape Rust’s commitment to educating the whole person. Students are encouraged to develop not only academically and professionally but also ethically, socially, culturally, and spiritually.

The College welcomes students from diverse backgrounds and traditions. Its mission is to equip and inspire students for excellence and service in their communities and throughout the world. That mission reflects the same spirit of opportunity and human dignity that guided the institution’s founders in 1866.

Throughout its history, Rust College has educated students who have gone on to serve as teachers, school administrators, college professors, college presidents, ministers, bishops, physicians, scientists, attorneys, journalists, artists, entertainers, coaches, public officials, business executives, and community leaders.

Rust alumni have strengthened schools, churches, businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and communities throughout Mississippi, across the United States, and around the world. Their achievements reflect the College’s longstanding belief that education should prepare individuals not only to succeed personally but also to improve the lives of others.

Among the most enduring measures of Rust College’s impact is the service of its graduates. Whether leading institutions, teaching children, caring for patients, advancing justice, creating art, conducting research, building businesses, or ministering to congregations, Rust alumni continue to demonstrate the values instilled by the College.

As Rust College commemorates 160 years of service, it continues to build upon the vision established in 1866. What began as a school in a church has grown into a historic liberal arts institution serving students from Mississippi, throughout the nation, and around the world.

The College continues to expand academic opportunities, embrace innovation, strengthen community partnerships, preserve its historic campus, and prepare students to meet the needs of a changing society. At the same time, Rust remains grounded in the values that have defined it from the beginning: faith, truth, service, educational access, personal responsibility, and respect for the dignity and potential of every student.

Rust College’s history is a story of transformation – from enslavement to freedom, from limited educational access to advanced learning, and from a small Reconstruction-era school to one of America’s enduring historically Black colleges and universities.

For generations, Rust College has empowered students to Rise Up and Stand Tall. As the institution moves forward, it remains committed to honoring its legacy, educating future leaders, serving communities, and building a stronger future for generations yet to come.

Rust College was established at a time when educating African Americans in the South required courage, sacrifice, faith, and determination. Its founders and earliest students faced extraordinary obstacles, yet they understood education as an essential pathway to freedom, dignity, leadership, and progress.

Through Reconstruction, segregation, the civil rights movement, economic change, and the continuing transformation of higher education, Rust College has remained steadfast in its purpose. The institution has adapted its programs and methods while preserving its fundamental commitment to students who seek knowledge and opportunity.

The words of the Rust College alma mater capture this history of perseverance:

“O, the world is full of colleges, but there is one that is all my own. For it stood for education, when it had to stand alone.”

Those words are more than a tribute to the past. They express the courage of the people who founded the institution, the determination of the students who entered its classrooms, and the loyalty of the alumni and supporters who have sustained it across generations.