Few schools can claim the distinction of having been founded by a saint. The history of St. Philip’s College, however, is intricately woven with the life of Artemisia Bowden, the daughter of a former slave and recently recognized Episcopal saint, who led the institution from 1902 until 1954.
Under Bowden’s watch, the institution evolved from a parochial day school for Black children to a two-year college. She left the college having served as principal, president and dean the same year that the U.S. Supreme Court decided the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, which ended legalized school segregation. From that point forward, St. Philip’s would be open to students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Located in San Antonio, Texas, St. Philip’s is the nation’s westernmost HBCU and a member of the five-institution Alamo Colleges District. Now serving more than 13,000 students, the school has made a remarkable transformation influenced by the culture and ever-evolving history of the region.
By 1902, San Antonio was already the largest city in Texas but still only a fraction of the size it is today. Currently the seventh-largest city in the country, San Antonio’s population is highly diverse and the fastest growing in the Lone Star state.
St. Philip’s can also lay claim to another distinction: it is the only institution to have been officially designated as both an HBCU and a Hispanic serving institution (HSI). Currently, more than half of St. Philip’s students are Hispanic, 29 percent are White and 12 percent are Black.
While several HBCUs are now predominantly White, St. Philip’s was the first to become majority Hispanic. Other HBCUs are following in St. Philip’s footsteps to become more diverse, particularly in areas with large Hispanic populations.
Paul Quinn College (PQC), a small four-year HBCU in Dallas, Texas, for instance, named its first Latina Miss PQC in 2013. Tanya Torres, a Fisk University student, will become the first Hispanic to serve as president of the student government association at the 151-year-old HBCU.
