Celebrate HBCU History with UAPB!
By: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), currently celebrating its year-long sesquicentennial, announces the upcoming celebration of “Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Day” on Wednesday, September 27. At 2 p.m. in the STEM Building on the UAPB campus, the City of Pine Bluff and UAPB will gather to commemorate the incredible contributions and remarkable achievements of Professor Joseph Carter Corbin, who is revered as the founder of Branch Normal College, now UAPB, and the “Father of Higher Education” for African Americans in Arkansas.
“UAPB honors the enduring legacy of Professor Joseph Carter Corbin who, 150 years ago, founded what became the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff,” said Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander. “We’ll pay tribute to this remarkable American educator who was not only a trailblazer in the field of education, but also a journalist, mathematician, scholar, linguist, and musician. His passion and commitment to providing quality education to African Americans in Arkansas has left an indelible mark on our local community and beyond as alumni go out into the world as leaders and innovators themselves.”
The event will include a proclamation by Mayor Shirley Washington marking the day as “Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Day,” a tribute to Corbin by State Senator Stephanie Flowers, and an unveiling of a portrait of Corbin. Guests will hear from Dr. Gladys Turner Finney ’57, author of the book “Joseph Carter Corbin: Educator Extraordinaire and Founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff;” University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Chancellor Dr. Charles F. Robinson; Director of the Arkansas State Archives and State Historian Dr. David Ware; and Ashley N.L. Crockett, a fifth-generation descendant of Corbin. Dr. Finney will have limited copies of her book on hand to sign.
For more information about Joseph Corbin, contact the University Museum and Cultural Center at 870.575.8230.
For more information about the Corbin Day events, contact Mary Hester-Clifton at 870.575.8703 or hestercliftonm@uapb.edu.
To Learn More About the Proclamation and Festivities click here
