Skip to content
The Ledger
The Rise · HBCU

Claflin(Claflin University)

School colors: Orange & Maroon

Claflin University
Gerry Dincher from Hope Mills, NC, 2018-02-25 11:04, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Orangeburg, South Carolina · Founded 1869

Private · Four-year · ~1,800 students

www.claflin.edu · official site

Founding

Claflin University's charter was secured in 1869 by Alonzo Webster, a minister and educator from Vermont who sat on its Board of Trustees. The Baker Biblical Institute merged with Claflin in 1870, and in 1872 the South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute was established at Claflin, assuring state funding under the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862.

Source: History, Claflin University, read 2026-09-14.

What the school says about itself

Motto
As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.Source, read 2026-09-17.
On the record
  • Welcome to Claflin University, the oldest and first HBCU in South Carolina. Source, read 2026-09-17.

On the official record

Campus address
400 Magnolia Street, Orangeburg, SC 29115-4498
Control
Private not-for-profit
Students
~1,800 students
Directory id
217873
OPE id
00342400
Student aid
Takes part in Title IV student aid
Title III Part B list, FY 2026
Listed
Location
400 Magnolia Street, Orangeburg, SC. See it on the Ledger map.
Where this location comes fromCampus location from IPEDS 2024-25This campus location comes from the federal IPEDS 2024-25 record, used as published, so the pin on the map is the campus.IPEDS Institutional Characteristics, Directory information (HD2024), 2024-25 collection, file dated 2025-09-21, retrieved 2026-09-14: coordinate 33.498444, -80.854319 as published. The Census Bureau geocoder also matched this address exactly on 2026-09-14.

Across newBWS

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics, Directory information (HD2024), 2024-25 provisional data collection. Unit id 217873. https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/data/HD2024.zip. File dated 2025-09-21.
  2. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. Higher Education Programs Eligibility Matrix, sheet 'HBCU', dated 2026-06-08. https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fy-2026-higher-education-programs-eligibility-matrix-june-8-2026-114185.xlsx.
  3. History, Claflin University. https://www.claflin.edu/about/history. Read 2026-09-14.
  4. Vision, Mission and Guiding Principles, Claflin University. https://www.claflin.edu/about/vision-mission-and-guiding-principles. Read 2026-09-17.
  5. Students: 1,835 total, Fall 2023 (1,754 undergraduate, 81 graduate). IPEDS Fall Enrollment 2023, derived variables (DRVEF2023). https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/data/DRVEF2023.zip. File dated 2024-09-30, read 2026-09-17.
  6. Home, Claflin University. https://www.claflin.edu/. Read 2026-09-17.
  7. School colors: Orange & Maroon. Values as stated. Claflin University, Wikipedia (revision 1368429401). Read 2026-09-16.
  8. Photograph: Gerry Dincher from Hope Mills, NC, 2018-02-25 11:04, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Claflin_University_(39685359505).jpg. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
  9. U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder, batch address service, benchmark Public_AR_Current. https://geocoding.geo.census.gov/geocoder/.

Enrollment is the official 2023 count, rounded. Tap a school for its source.

Machine-readable: /api/v1/hbcus/claflin-university · All HBCUs

These campuses have gathered generations. TheCookout is where the newBWS community gathers now. Pull up a plate.