General Alumni Association of Allen University
A single Yellow jacket can clear a room; a swarm of yellow jackets can do the unimaginable!
Our History
Allen University
Allen University, a Christian liberal arts institution located on a 20-acre campus in Columbia, South Carolina, is the oldest historically black college in the state. The school was founded in 1870 by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church of South Carolina, and was originally located in Newberry and known as Payne College, after antebellum South Carolina AME Bishop and educator Daniel Payne. The school moved to Columbia in 1880, and, after being incorporated under state law, was renamed Allen University in honor of Bishop Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The school’s original purpose was to provide educational opportunities to recently freed slaves. Allen especially focused on training ministers for AME churches.
