Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its 40-acre (16 ha) campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Former names
The Fisk Freed Colored School (1866–1867)
"Her sons and daughters are ever on the altar"[1]
1866
United Church of Christ (historically related)
70 full-time
1,055 (fall 2022)[3]
Urban, 40 acres (16 ha)
English
Gold and blue
Bulldogs
The Fisk Bulldog
In 1930, Fisk became the first historically black institution to gain accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Fisk is the oldest institution for higher education in Nashville.[4][5]
Location
Roughly bounded by 16th and 18th Aves., Hermosa, Herman and Jefferson Sts.
Nashville, Tennessee
Italianate; Queen Anne
February 9, 1978
Fisk's 40-acre campus was dedicated in 1876. It sits on a small hill approximately two miles northwest of downtown that was previously Fort Gillem, a Union fort during the Civil War.[49] The campus lies on Jefferson Street, a historic center of Nashville's African-American community.
The Fisk University Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Notable campus buildings that contribute to the historic district include:
Additional campus buildings listed on the register include Little Theater, Harris Music Building, numerous residential structures, and a limestone wall built around 1873.[54]
In the 1930s, Fisk hired the Olmsted Brothers firm to lead a master design of its campus at this time, resulting in the Beaux-Arts landscape.[59][60]
Academic rankings
171–221
199
642
Athletics[edit]
The Fisk athletic teams are called the Bulldogs. The institution is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA),[82] primarily competing in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) since the 2021–22 academic year; which they were a member on a previous stint from 2010–11 to 2013–14.[83] The Bulldogs previously competed as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) from 2014–15 to 2020–21 (which they were a member on a previous stint from 2008–09 to 2009–10); in the defunct Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the NCAA Division III ranks from 1999–2000 to 2005–06; in the D-III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) from 1983–84 to 1993–94; and in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) from 1913–14 to 1982–83, which is currently a NCAA Division II athletic conference.
Fisk competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and track and field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, tennis, track and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball. Fisk is the first HBCU to add a competitive women's gymnastics team.[3] Club sports include cheerleading and dance.
