Eleventh Anniversary of the Kalamazoo Theological Seminary

Abstract

From 1849 to 1869, the Kalamazoo Theological Seminary, a supplementary institute of Kalamazoo College, offered classes for ministerial students. In 1861, Rufus Lewis Perry, a former enslaved person, graduated from the seminary. He was the first Black student at Kalamazoo College. According to the program, he gave a speech titled "Africa and the Gospel" at the ceremony. Other graduates that year included J.L. Deland, Howard B. Taft, J.J. Miller, and Luther H. Trowbridge. Taft and Trowbrige would later serve on the college's Board of Trustees.