Auburn’s First Female Students

Willie Little, Katherine Broun and Margaret Teague were admitted to Auburn as the first women to enroll in the university. All three women graduated with honors, and Broun became the first female graduate student at the university.

Women’s Student Government Association Established

Auburn’s Women Student Government Association was established as the university’s first female advocacy group to improve women’s conditions on campus. They adopted a new constitution to recognize their rights as an individual and as a group. The constitution also included a set of regulations regarding women’s dormitories.

Club Latino Americano Founded

Club Latino Americano was founded as the first student organization for Latino students at Auburn.

In the summer of 1947, Isaac Scott Hathaway became one of Auburn’s first African-American professors. Hathaway taught a six-week ceramics class in the College of Human Sciences 16 years prior to Auburn’s integration in 1964.

Hathaway’s lectures in the composition and analysis of clays, slips and glazes were described as outstanding. After his time at Auburn, he moved on to become the Director of Ceramics at Alabama State College where he worked until his retirement in 1963.

A U.S. District Judge rules that Auburn University could not deny the admission of Harold A. Franklin Sr. of Talladega, Alabama. The judge later ruled the university would also provide him living accommodations on campus.

Harold Franklin arrives at the Auburn library to register for classes in the graduate school, solidifying his place in history as the first African-American student to be admitted to Auburn.

Josetta Brittain Matthews becomes the first African American and first African-American woman to graduate from Auburn. After earning a master’s degree and teaching at Tuskegee, she returned to Auburn for a doctoral program in social science education, completing her degree in 1974. She then joined the faculty in the School of Arts of Science, becoming the first African American to do so.

Samuel Pettijohn is the first African American to earn an undergraduate degree at Auburn.

Henry Harris enrolled at Auburn and joined the freshman basketball team, becoming the university’s first black scholarship athlete.

Birmingham native James Owens becomes Auburn’s first African-American scholarship football player.

Alfred Powell becomes the first African-American student at Auburn to earn a doctorate.

Anthony Copeland is the first African-American to be elected vice president of the Student Government Association and president of the Student Senate.

Thom Gossom is the first African-American football player to graduate from Auburn.

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., shown here in a 1973 Glomerata photo, is chartered as Auburn’s first Black fraternity.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the first Black sorority, is chartered on Auburn’s campus.

Linwood Moore becomes the first African-American cheerleader.

Dr. Bessie Mae Holloway was appointed as the first African American to serve on Auburn’s Board of Trustees.

Vincent “Bo” Jackson wins the Heisman Trophy, the most prestigious award in college football which annually recognizes the nation’s top athlete. He becomes Auburn’s first African-American football player to win the award. Cam Newton would follow in 2010.

Harold Melton, a student in international studies and Spanish, runs for president of Auburn’s Student Government Association. Capturing more than 65 percent of the vote, he becomes the first African-American student at Auburn to serve as SGA president.

Spectrum: Auburn University’s Gay-Straight Alliance Founded

Spectrum was founded as the university’s first LGBTQ+ advocacy group. They promote mutually supportive relationships among all students in the interest of advancing campus and community diversity. Spectrum serves as a safe space for students who are part of gender, sexual, and romantic minorities, those who are still discovering themselves and their allies to gather and discuss topics that relate to them, as well as establish an environment free from discrimination based on sexual orientation as well as gender identity and expression.

The Auburn Black Caucus is chartered as an organization for African Americans at Auburn.

Vania Clemons Bynum becomes the first African-American Miss Auburn.

The Black Student Union is formed at Auburn. The student organization exists to represent the interests and concerns of Black students, to bring together all aspects of Black student life for the purpose of improving the campus environment and encourage the involvement of Black students in all campus activities.

Danyelle Hillman, from Russellville, Alabama, becomes the first African-American female cheerleader.

Auburn awards Harold Franklin an honorary doctorate of arts.

Auburn Wheelchair Basketball Team Formed

Auburn Wheelchair Basketball was created to give students with disabilities an avenue in which to compete and thrive as student-athletes. The program was formed thanks in part to the campus-wide interest generated as the result of Auburn student Jared Rehm competing in wheelchair tennis from 2009-10.

A historical marker is installed on Auburn’s campus, commemorating Harold Franklin’s admittance to the university. The marker concludes with the words, “A century of institutional segregation effectively ended that day, clearing the path for other African American students to enroll and attend Auburn University.”

Auburn launched its most comprehensive climate assessment process that focused on better understanding to the lived experiences of all members of the Auburn Family. The implementation committee, comprised of faculty, staff and students, originally identified 17 recommendations to guide the institution’s future diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Auburn names Taffye Benson Clayton as its first associate provost and vice president for inclusion and diversity.

Korea Corner Created

Auburn’s Office of Professional & Continuing Education opened Korea Corner—an educational and cultural resource center designed to increase access to materials on Korea and create an educational experience for Auburn students and the local community.

The SGA Student Senate unanimously passes legislation in support of the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s campaign to create a legacy plaza at Auburn.

Eagles Program Created

The College of Education created the Education to Accomplish Growth in Life Experiences for Success, or EAGLES program, to provide opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities. Its first group of program graduates participated in commencement exercises in December 2020.

Ada Ruth Huntley, a global studies major, become the first African-American female Student Government Association president.

Harold Franklin defends his thesis to members of the Department of History.

Harold Franklin is scheduled to receive his master’s degree from Auburn, but the COVID-19 pandemic cancels formal commencement exercises. Auburn mails the degree to Franklin in June.

Auburn establishes the Presidential Task Force for Opportunity and Equity to examine current diversity, equity and inclusion issues and to recommend steps leading to a stronger and more impactful Auburn for students, faculty, staff, alumni and the communities it serves.

The Auburn Board of Trustees supports the creation and naming of the National Pan-Hellenic Council Legacy Plaza. The symbolic and functional space, to be erected in front of the new Academic Classroom and Laboratory Complex, will recognize the legacy of the Black Greek organizations and African-American culture at Auburn. Construction is expected to begin in 2022.

The Black Alumni Council is formed to support the goals and mission of the Auburn Alumni Association specifically on matters pertaining to Black alumni.

The Auburn Board of Trustees acts to name the Student Center for Harold Melton, chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and the first person of color to be elected SGA president.

The Student Center is officially renamed the Harold D. Melton Student Center, becoming the first building on campus to bear the name of an African American.

Harold Franklin, Auburn’s first African American student, participates in graduation ceremonies at Auburn after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed his participation from the spring.

Tiger Hall is renamed Bessie Mae Holloway Hall in honor of Auburn’s first African American Board of Trustees member, who represented the 1st Congressional District in that capacity from 1985-2000. Members of Holloway’s family—including her nephew Norman Vivians—represented Holloway, who passed away on Sept. 11, 2019, at the ceremony.

Eagle Hall is renamed Josetta Brittain Matthews Hall in honor of Auburn’s first African American graduate and faculty member. Heidi Wright, an Auburn University special education professor, accepted on behalf of Matthews, who passed away on Dec. 15, 2019.