A once-neglected hill behind Bennett College on East Lee Street, is the newly-constructed Watkins House. Part of Bennett College’s 2009 Capital Improvements Project, the Nellouise Watkins Faculty House is named for its benefactor and made possible by her $300,000 financial contribution. Wakins taught in the Mathematics and Computer Science Department for over thirty years. See a photo of her with President Julianne Malveaux here. 

Bennett college is a four-year liberal arts college for women with approximately 600 undergraduates. It was founded in 1873 as a school to educate newly emancipated slaves and, in 1926, it became a women’s college. It has been encouraging to see the college garner the attention of famous Americans like Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou in recent years and to see the campus get a much-needed facelift. We offer this shot for ABC Wednesday with “W” for Watkins in honor of not only the building but also the still-living, vibrant philanthropist who make this building possible. Greensboro has a long tradition of educating women. UNCG was a college for women until it became co-ed in 1968. So, while for ABC Wednesday, our contribution is “W” for Watkins, it could also be “W” for women!