From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Atwood, Rufus Ballard

(born: 1897 - died: 1983)

Rufus B. Atwood was born in Hickman, KY. In 1929 he became the sixth president of Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University], serving in that capacity until 1962.

Atwood led the school toward becoming a four-year accredited college with revised and expanded programs. He was a non-confrontational advocate for the school and the education of African Americans.

Atwood was a World War I veteran and the first African American awarded the University of Kentucky Sullivan Medallion for his dedication to education. The Rufus B. Atwood papers are located at Kentucky State University.

For more see A Black Educator in the Segregated South, by G. Smith.

Subject

Activists, Civil Rights

Education and Educators

Presidents of Colleges and Universities

Military and Veterans

World War I

Coverage

Hickman, Fulton County, Kentucky

External Digital Object Link

Read about the Rufus B. Atwood Oral History Project interviews that are available at the University of Kentucky Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History.

Lyman Johnson, right, and Kentucky State University President R. B. Atwood leave federal district court in Lexington after the court ruled in favor of Johnson's admission to the University of Kentucky. Photograph at the University of Kentucky ExploreUK database.