It's the saddest news in HBCU history. D.J's Music Site HBCU Campaign has learn that an HBCU has to close their doors after 125-years of operating. St. Paul College in Virgina will closing on June 30.

After having unsuccessfully battled with crushing debt and a rejected accreditation, St. Paul is joining the list of HBCU's forced to closed their doors for good. The major agents behind the 125-year old school's closure have reignited discussion on the current state of HBCUs and possible ways to ensure their future. 

St. Paul's College is a private, historically black college located in Lawrenceville, Virginia. Saint Paul's College opened its doors on September 24, 1888. Saint Paul's college offered undergraduate degrees for traditional college students and distant learning students in the Continuing Studies Program. The school also offered adult eduction to help assist working adults to gain undergraduate degrees. Saint Paul's College had a Single Parent Support System Program that assist single teen parents to gain a college education. 

in 1941 the name of the institution was changed to Saint Paul's Polytechnic Institute when the state granted the school authority to offer a four-year program. The first bachelor's degree was awarded in 1944. In 1957 the college adopted its present name to reflect its liberal arts and teacher eduction curricula.

In June 2012, the college's regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and School commission on Colleges, stripped the college of its accreditation. Although the college has been on probation, it lost its accreditation for "violations concerning financial resources, institutional effectiveness in support services, institutional effectiveness in academics and student services, lack of terminal degrees for too many faculty members, and a lack of financial stability." The college sued the accreditor and two months later a court issued a preliminary injunction reinstating the college's probationary accreditation to protect it during further legal proceedings. Although there were initial plans that St. Augustine's University in Raleigh, North Carolina another historically black university of Episcopal heritage (The college I got accepted to before I decided to takes UAPB offer), would acquire St. Paul's but the deal was abandoned in May 2013. Shorty thereafter, the college reported to SACS that it woudl close on June 30, 2013.

Saint Paul's eleven-building campus is situated on 185 acres of green hills. Older buildings were constructed by students and donated by friends of the College. The college has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

According to the news; approximately 200 students were enrolled at the school; 51 students graduated from in the spring.

See an list of other HBCUs that have closed their doors below.

In an article theses were some statements found from former presidents of HBCUs and the president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

"When you don't have a large endowment, you're dependent on tuition," said George Cooper, former president of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. "The trend in enrollment for a number HBCUs is on the decline, because families just dont have enough resources to send their sons and daughters to school."

Black families are reeling from the Great Recession that stripped half of their wealth and an unemployment rate that nearly double the jobless rate for Whites.

"The economic crisis that we see today impacts all universities," said Cooper. "If you don't get the students, you really don't maintain the enrollment base necessary to pay the cost associated with running a university."

Recent changes to the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students programs made it even harder for parents with weak credit histories to qualify for the loan. Students who attend historically Black colleges and universities rely on the loans at a higher rate than other groups.

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, said those changes coupled with anemic alumni support likely crippled St. Paul's, but that a number of factors likely contributed to its demise.

"It's a very sad day when any historic institution has to close its doors when we know that there is significant need for higher education in the African American community," said Taylor.

"Unfortunately, in our community the only thing that we're strongly socialized to give to is the church," said Taylor. "Thats the biggest part of the problem."

Taylor fears that it will take more closings of more HBCUs before the Black community wakes up and reacts to the crisis.

"It's not going to happen until our community starts seeing a trend of HBCUs closing and no one is running to save them," said Taylor. "Ultimately, the school and its alums have the responsibility to make sure that their [alma mater] continues to grant degrees."

The article also states that Morris Brown College in Atlanta founded in 1881 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), was saddled with $30 million in debt, filed for bankruptcy to avoid closing. It lost it accreditation in 2002 and recently rejected $10 million proposal from the mayor to purchase the campus.

All HBCUs listed above that closed in the past will be entered into our HBCU dictionary as Special Honoree HBCUs. Let's make a different by letting D.J's Music Site help your community and help education especially HBCUs and help current the legacy of all HBCUs in the near future by becoming a volunteer, helping, researcher and donor of to the D.J's Music Site HBCU Campaign, you can get more information on the D.J's Music Site HBCU Campaign here. E-mail us here for additional information on becoming an HBCU Campaign volunteer/worker. Also register as an alumni or an student and list what school you represent.