Saint Augustine's University

Academics

Just north of downtown Raleigh sits Saint Augustine’s University, a private liberal arts institution offering more than twenty majors and fifteen minors to around one thousand students. The school remains focused on the future and keeps its first- and second-year courses current, establishing academic programs that meet marketplace demand. Experiential learning is emphasized throughout all curriculums, including service learning, internships, and cooperative educational opportunities; students are asked to understand why they learn through the application of knowledge they acquire in the classroom and their studies. As part of this strategic mission, the Student Global Leadership Fellows Institute is a new program that helps students develop leadership competencies and experience through four day-long training sessions highlighting the role of a global citizen. The First-Year Experience Program provides mentorship for first-year and transfer students in order to ease the transition into college and maximize learning outcomes. The program features a required two-semester interdisciplinary course including an introduction to the history of Saint Augustine’s University, policies and resources, study skills, and time management. The Academic Advising Center helps first-years and undeclared students map out a strategy for goal achievement, and the Writing Center provides oneon-one writing consultations from peer consultants for any project that a student brings in.

Career

The First-Year Experience includes a new student orientation and Welcome Week, which is filled with social events and opportunities for students to forge connections with staff and each other. Community engagement is promoted throughout the year, and the Office of Student Engagement & Greek Life organizes events and lectures that enable students to do so, including the Black Business Food Truck Rodeo, lectures on Black history, and faculty/student discussions. A wide variety of clubs and organizations are available, including the National Council of Negro Women, Poetry Club, and STEM Club. Broadcast is also popular here, as the University was the nation’s first HBCU to own a campus commercial radio station and television station (there is also now an Internet radio station). SAU is a NCAA Division II school, and the track and field programs have won an amazing 39 national championships and brought great acclaim to SAU.

Culture

The Belk Professional Development Center acts as the central hub for all career planning and job search assistance, and conducts workshops on professional development and employee essentials each week, working with SAU faculty to incorporate these as part of course requirements. The school also hosts career exploration programs and professional development dinners throughout the year. Notable alumni include writer Anna Julia Cooper, the first African American Episcopal Bishop Henry Beard Delany, and Grammy-nominated producer Travis Cherry.