People, Locations, Episodes

Rembert Stokes, Educator, and Bishop born

Rembert E. Stokes

Rembert E. Stokes was born on this date in 1917. He was a Black bishop, educator, and administrator.

He received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree and a Doctor of Theology in Social Ethics degree from Boston University.  Stokes was a 1940 graduate of Wilberforce University, became president of the University in 1956, and served until he was elected to the Bishopric of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1976. That year he was also presented the Distinguished Service Award by the Alumni Association, and the Wilberforce University Stokes Learning Resource Center was named in his honor.

While president of Wilberforce University, the school regained North Central Association accreditation (lost at the time of the separation, in 1947, of the Normal and Industrial Department, funded by the State of Ohio), strengthened the Board of Trustees, and developed a plan to build a new campus.  He initiated the Cooperative Education Program in 1964, and enrollment nearly tripled. He served on the Board of Directors for the United Negro College Fund and many other organizations.

He served on the Dayton (OH) Advisory Committee, which monitored integration in public schools.  He held A.M.E. Church pastorates in Jamestown, Rhode Island; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Canton, Ohio. He also served as Dean of Payne Theological Seminary.  He was married to Nancy Phillips. Bishop Rembert Stokes died in 1994.