The AUC explained: Six schools, one extraordinary Black college community

For more than a century, the Atlanta University Center has been one of the most important centers of Black higher education in the country.

The consortium of historically Black institutions near downtown Atlanta includes Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Morris Brown College, the Interdenominational Theological Center and Morehouse School of Medicine. Together, they represent the largest concentration of HBCUs in the country.

Together, they have educated generations of leaders in medicine, business, politics, religion and the arts.

Students can cross-register for classes and participate in activities across the neighboring campuses. Around 12,000 students, faculty and staff make up the AUC community, with the schools all within walking distance of one another. Students also study together at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, which the institutions share. All of it creates a campus culture that extends across school lines.

Here’s what to know about the six institutions that make up the AUC community.

Clark Atlanta University

Founded: 1865 as Atlanta University by the American Missionary Association and 1869 as Clark College in the Summerhill community by the Methodist Episcopal Church. The two schools consolidated in 1988 to create Clark Atlanta University.

Leadership: George T. French Jr. was named fifth president in 2019.

Type: Private, coeducational research university.

Location: 223 James P. Brawley Drive SW.

Motto: “Find a way or make one.”

Why it matters: Atlanta University, one of CAU’s predecessor institutions, became the nation’s first HBCU to offer graduate education. Its art department, established in 1931, became an important center for Black artists and scholarship. The school remains one of the country’s leading HBCU research institutions.

Notable Alumni: Poet, author and civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson; artist Amy Sherald; U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson; theater and film director Kenny Leon; and writer, producer and director Kenya Barris.

Morehouse College

Founded: 1867 as Augusta Institute in the basement of Springfield Baptist Church in Augusta, renamed Atlanta Baptist College in 1897 and changed to Morehouse College in 1913.

Leadership: F. DuBois Bowman was named the 13th president in 2025.

Type: Private liberal arts college for men.

Location: 830 Westview Drive SW.

Motto: “And there was light.”

Why it matters: Morehouse is a historically Black men’s college with an extraordinary legacy in civil rights and public leadership. In 1929, the college began admitting women and graduated 33 women over the next four years. Today, it is the nation’s only historically Black liberal arts college for men. Morehouse has produced six Rhodes scholars, and its International Chapel is named for alumnus Martin Luther King Jr.

Notable Alumni: Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.; U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock; filmmaker Spike Lee; Atlanta’s first Black mayor Maynard Jackson; and Olympic gold medalist Edwin Moses.

Spelman College

Founded: 1881 as Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church, changed to Spelman Seminary in 1884 and later Spelman College in 1924.

Leadership: Ayanna Howard was named the 12th president in August 2026.

Type: Private liberal arts college for women.

Location: 350 Spelman Lane SW.

Motto: “A choice to change the world.”

Why it matters: Spelman is a historically Black women’s college with a nationally prominent liberal arts tradition. In 1901, Spelman presented its first two college degrees. The Spelman College Glee Club was organized in 1924 and participated in the first Morehouse-Spelman Christmas Carol Concert in 1927. In 1987, Johnnetta B. Cole became the first Black woman to be named the school’s president. U.S. News & World Report ranked Spelman the nation’s No. 1 HBCU for the 20th consecutive year in 2026.

Notable Alumnae: Author Alice Walker; playwright and author Pearl Cleage; political leader and author Stacey Abrams; civil rights leader and children’s advocate Marian Wright Edelman; and author Tayari Jones.

Morris Brown College

Founded: 1881 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, granted its charter by the State of Georgia four years later and became the state’s first HBCU founded and operated by African Americans.

Leadership: Kevin James was named its 19th president in 2019.

Type: Private coeducational liberal arts college.

Location: 643 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW.

Motto: “To God and truth.”

Why it matters: After losing accreditation in 2002 and nearly closing, Morris Brown regained accreditation in 2022 after a nearly two-decade effort to revive the historic Black-owned institution.

Notable Alumni: Comedian Sommore; civil rights leader Hosea Williams; Pulitzer Prize-winning writer James Alan McPherson; radio host Derrick Boazman; and actor Thomas Byrd.

Interdenominational Theological Center

Founded: 1958 to unite Morehouse School of Religion, Gammon Theological Seminary, Turner Theological Seminary and Phillips School of Theology. Johnson C. Smith School of Theology relocated from Charlotte to join ITC in 1969, and Charles H. Mason Theological Seminary joined a year later.

Leadership: Rev. Herman “Skip” Mason Jr. became interim president in August 2024 before being named 12th president in October 2025.

Type: Private graduate school of theology and consortium of Christian seminaries.

Location: 700 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW.

Motto: “Where students enter and leaders depart.”

Why it matters: ITC is one of the nation’s leading producers of seminary-educated Black clergy. Created by historically Black Christian denominations to educate ministers and religious leaders, it is the only graduate theological institution serving both the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church through Phillips School of Theology and the Church of God in Christ through C.H. Mason Theological Seminary. ITC students also helped form the Atlanta Student Movement in 1960 to challenge racial injustice during the civil rights movement, and the institution played a role in the early development of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

Notable Alumni: Former U.S. Ambassador Charles Stith; theologian Katie G. Cannon; theologian and physician Paula McGee; and judge and television personality Penny Brown Reynolds.

Morehouse School of Medicine

Founded: 1975 as a two-year basic sciences program at Morehouse College under Dr. Louis Sullivan. In 1981, it was chartered as an independent medical institution and became an accredited four-year medical school four years later.

Leadership: Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice became the sixth president in 2014 and is the first woman to lead the institution.

Type: Private, independent medical school.

Location: 720 Westview Drive SW.

Motto: “Knowledge, Wisdom, Excellence, Service.”

Why it matters: The medical school focuses heavily on health equity, primary care and underserved communities. In 1992, the medical school started its Ph.D. program and its surgery residency program the following year.