LINCOLN UNIVERSITY Opening Convocation 2025
Thursday, September 4 • 11 a.m.
Mitchell Auditorium
Richardson Fine Arts Center
The History of Lincoln University
As the American Civil War drew to a close in 1865, two regiments of emancipated Black soldiers took action on a decision that would reverberate from their Army station at Fort McIntosh, Texas, all the way to the Missouri state capital. The men, who learned to read and write as part of their training in boot camp, were determined to start a school for other freed Black people when they returned to their homes in Missouri after the war. The soldiers of the 62nd United States Colored Infantry, whose pay averaged $13 a month, came up with $5,000 to establish an educational institution in Jefferson City, which they named Lincoln Institute. The 65th Colored Infantry contributed another $1,400 to the school’s endowment.
Preparations moved swiftly to open Lincoln Institute the following year. The charter specified three requirements:
1. The institution shall be designed for the special benefit of emancipated African Americans.
2. It shall be located in the state of Missouri.
3. Its fundamental idea shall be to combine study and labor.
On January 14, 1866, an organization committee formally established Lincoln Institute. By June of the same year, it incorporated and the committee became the Lincoln Institute Board of Trustees. Richard Baxter Foster, a former first lieutenant in the 62nd Infantry, was named first principal of Lincoln Institute. On September 17, 1866, the school opened its doors to the first class of two students in an old frame building in Jefferson City.
In 1870, the school began to receive aid from the state of Missouri for teacher training. In 1871, Lincoln Institute moved to its present campus. The curriculum added college-level coursework in 1877, and in 1879 Lincoln formally became a Missouri public institution with the deeding of the property to the state. Inman E. Page, Lincoln’s first president, took office in 1880 and served until 1898, overseeing enrollment growth, the construction of new buildings, hiring of new faculty and an expanding college curriculum. Under the second Morrill Act of 1890, Missouri designated Lincoln a land-grant university, emphasizing studies in agriculture, mechanics and teaching.
In 1921, the Missouri Legislature passed a bill to expand the school to a four-year college and change the name from Lincoln Institute to Lincoln University, governed by a Board of Curators. Inman Page returned to Lincoln in 1922 to serve one more year as president of the newly designated university.
Lincoln’s high school division earned accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1925; the teacher-training program followed in 1926 and the four-year College of Arts and Sciences in 1934.
Longtime university President Sherman D. Scruggs witnessed tremendous growth during his time at the helm of Lincoln, from 1938 to 1956. Graduate instruction began in the summer session of 1940, with majors in education and history and minors in English, history and sociology. In 1954, following the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education declaring segregated public schools unconstitutional, Lincoln University opened its doors to all who could meet its entrance criteria, regardless of ethnicity. Enrollment climbed from 400 to more than 1,000 students, triggering a move to expand curriculum and facilities.
Dr. James Frank was the first Lincoln alumnus to become president of the university, serving from 1973 to 1982. During his tenure, Lincoln University enhanced its land-grant status with the Cooperative Extension Center and acquired additional farm property. The Frank administration also developed a broadcast journalism program and began training students at campus television station JCTV.
The 1990s saw the growth and integration of nursing, teacher education, computer science and agribusiness into Lincoln’s core offerings. As the school made its way into the 21st century, Lincoln enjoyed a resurgence in athletic programs and technological advancements, both in and out of the classroom.
In 2014, John B. Moseley joined Lincoln as head basketball coach. He assumed the position of interim athletic director in 2015 and was selected for the permanent athletic director role in 2016. He began a term as interim president in May 2021, following the resignation of LU President Jerald Jones Woolfolk. On January 28, 2022, the Lincoln University Board of Curators named Dr. John Moseley president of the university.
Today, Lincoln serves a diverse student population, both residential and nonresidential, and offers an array of academic programs, research projects and public services. The university grants associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in more than 30 areas of study.
The legacy of those long-ago soldiers lives on in the growth of the university and the success of its graduates. The Soldiers’ Memorial Plaza on the campus quadrangle pays artistic tribute to the vision of the men of the 62nd and 65th Regiments and the embodiment of their dream.
Order of Program
Presiding
Piyusha Singh, Ph.D.
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
*Academic Processional
War March of the Priests from Athalie, by Felix Mendelssohn
Lincoln University Band
*Posting of Colors
ROTC Color Guard
*National Anthem
Star-Spangled Banner, Frances Scott Key & John Stafford Smith
Lincoln University Band
*Musical Selection
Lift Every Voice and Sing, James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson
Lincoln University Choir and Audience
Greetings
Victor B. Pasley ’68
President of the Board of Curators
John B. Moseley, Ed.D.
21st President of Lincoln University
Jamir Hunt ’26
23rd Mister Lincoln University
Dayonna Crump ’26
101st Miss Lincoln University
Student Charge and University Oath
Jesse Canamore ’26
President of the Student Government Association
Musical Selection
African Alleluia, by John Leavitt
Lincoln University Choir
Introduction of Convocation Speaker
Kenja Johnson ’26
Vice President of the Student Government Association
Convocation Address
Treaka Young ‘92, ‘93, ‘03, Ed.D.
Jefferson City Councilwoman for 3rd Ward and Director of Jefferson City Campus of State Fair Community College
Recognition of Guests and Announcements
Piyusha Singh, Ph.D.
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
*Retiring of Colors
ROTC Color Guard
*Alma Mater
Lincoln, O, Lincoln, words by Benjamin F. Allen and music by Robert Mitchell
Lincoln University Band and Choir
* Academic Recessional
Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, Sir Edward Elgar
Lincoln University Band
Kalem Graham, Director of Bands
Michelle Gamblin-Green, Director of the Choirs
Keynote Speaker Dr. Treaka Young
Treaka Young, Ed.D., is a respected public servant, educator and community leader who has called Jefferson City home since 1986. Originally from St. Louis, she moved to Jefferson City to attend Lincoln University. She and her husband, Bryan, have raised their two sons, Joseph (Sarah) and Torrie, in the capital city.
Young holds a certificate as a medical assistant and earned her bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from Lincoln University. She later earned a Doctor of Education in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
In May 2024, Young became director of State Fair Community College’s Jefferson City campus, a collaborative partnership between Lincoln University and State Fair. Her office is located on Lincoln University’s campus, reflecting her deep and ongoing connection to the institution where her academic journey began.
Young retired from the Missouri state government in 2022 after more than 20 years of service and most recently worked as a program manager for the University of Missouri until May 2024.
In April 2024, she made history as the first African American woman elected to the Jefferson City Council. Her civic engagement also includes a 2021 mayoral appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission, where she served for two years.
A proud 30-year member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Young lives out the sorority’s values of sisterhood, scholarship and service. She has served on numerous boards and committees, including the United Way executive committee, Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce executive board, Habitat for Humanity executive board and the Little Discovery Explore Day Care board.
Young is passionate about community empowerment, educational equity and connecting individuals to meaningful resources and opportunities.
Board of Curators
Victor B. Pasley ’68, M.S.Ed., President
Everidge Cade ’73, B.S., Vice President
Tina Shannon, M.P.A., Secretary
Richard R. Popp, J.D., Treasurer
Vernon V. Bracy ’82, B.S., Board Member
Richard G. Callahan, J.D., Board Member
Belinda M. Farrington ‘79, M.A., Board Member
Terry Rackers, B.S., Board Member
Jonathan D. Truesdale, J.D., Board Member
Class year designates graduation from Lincoln University.
The University Oath
We will never bring disgrace to Lincoln University by any act of cowardice or dishonesty. We will fight for the ideals and sacred things of the University. We will transmit our University to those who come after us, greater, better and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.
The Alma Mater
Lincoln, O, Lincoln
We thy proud children are; Thou art our guiding star, Lincoln, believe.
Ours are hearts that yearn for thee No matter where we be; Morning, noon, and always, we Are Lincolnites.
Thy name, O, Lincoln Shall e’er to us be dear. Thy mem’ries sacred, near Hold us to thee.
Thy honors ours shall be, Thy cause when just shall we With loyalty defend –For thee we’d die.
Lincoln, O, Lincoln!
We thy proud children are; Our hearts both near and far Love thee with delight. No matter where we are; Whether present, absent, far, Morning, noon, we always are True Lincolnites!
