Encouraging Students to Rise Up and Stand Tall for over One Hundred Fifty Years
Our History
Rust College is the oldest Historically Black College or University in the state of Mississippi. It is the third oldest institution of learning and higher learning in Mississippi. It is one of the oldest HBCUs currently operating in the United States.
Rust College was founded in 1866 by the Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The school opened in Asbury United Methodist Church, pastored by an African American, Samuel Moses. Missionaries from the North worked in the church, accepting students of all ages, instructing them in elementary subjects. A year later, with the cooperation of local African American carpenters and builders such as James Well, father of Ida Bell Wells, the first building on the current campus was erected.
The name of the institution has gone through several changes over the years. In 1870, the school was chartered as Shaw University, honoring the Reverend S.O. Shaw, who made a gift of $10,000 to the new institution. In 1892, the name was changed to Rust University to avoid confusion with another Shaw University. The name was a tribute to Secretary of the Freedmen’s Aid, Richard S. Rust of Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1915, the name was changed once again. It became Rust College and so it remains.
As time and students progressed, Rust added high school and college courses to the curriculum. In 1878, the first two students were graduated from the college department. As public schools for African Americans became more widespread, the need for private elementary and high schools decreased, and in 1930 the primary school was discontinued. The high school continued to function until 1953.
Just as the college’s name experienced several historical changes, so did its administration. In 1920, Dr. M.S. Davage became the first African American president of Rust College. Dr. L. M. McCoy (1924), his successor, became the first alumnus to serve his alma mater as president. He was followed in 1957 by Dr. Earnest A. Smith, an alumnus, class of 1937. In 1967, Dr. William A. McMillan, a non-alumnus assumed the presidency. In 1993, Dr. David L. Beckley, an alumnus, class of 1967, became the eleventh president of Rust College. In 2020, Dr. Ivy Taylor became the twelfth president of Rust College. In 2023, Dr. Robert M. Dixon, an alumnus of Morehouse College, became Rust’s thirteenth president. He is the first scientist to serve in that post.
Currently, Rust continues to build upon its legacy while looking towards the future. Rust continues to stand as a bulwark of education, growth, and service with more than 20,000 graduates total. More than 5,500 students have graduated from the college. Our notable alumni include bishops of several church denominations, lead teachers, primary and secondary administrators, college professors and presidents, journalists and entertainers, lawyers, physicians, business and government leaders, and ministers. After more than 150 years, Rust continues to empower students to rise up and stand tall wherever they may find themselves. “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…”
