A 1973 photo of cheerleaders posing at the Delaware State College (now DSU) main entrance sign.
Delaware State University, a top-ranked HBCU, is using the power of imagery to help preserve its legacy..
The school has announced a new content partnership with Getty Images, a prominent global visual media company.
Getty has a library of more than 477 million assets including stock images, editorial photography, video and music for businesses and consumers.
A circa 1939 photo of State College for Colored Students who were part of the then-program of the federal government to train Black pilots.
A 1950 Delaware State College baseball action shot.
“The world deserves to see the import and rich history of Delaware State University and our ever-careful eye toward the future,” said Tony Allen, DSU president in a statement.
The partnership, he said, dramatically increases the university’s exposure and provides visual representations of its bold vision – the most substantively diverse, contemporary and unapologetic HBCU in the world.
It’s a move to preserve DSU’s rich history, protect its brand and globally extend the reach of its ongoing story as one of the top HBCUs in the country.
DSU, which is the only HBCU in the First State, dates back to 1891.
The collaboration involves Getty Images managing the post-production costs to restore thousands of images from DSU’s Archives.
Funding comes from the company’s HBCU Photo Archive Grants Program provided by the Getty Family and Stand Together, a philanthropic company, and the new archival content will be available for licensing via Getty Images’ global distribution platform.
A 1932 photos of the State College for Colored Students women’s basketball team.
The archive grants program allocates $500,000 towards the digitization of HBCU photographic archives, and Getty plans to support the digitization of up to 100,000 archival photos from the grant recipients.
“We are excited to partner with Delaware State University and the HBCU community to illuminate the past, empower the present and inspire generations to come,” stated Cassandra Illidge, vice president of global partnerships and executive director of the HBCU Program at Getty Images.
Each HBCU’s photographic archive provides a unique and powerful glimpse into the mission and impact of their institution,” Illidge said.
Some of DSU’s history, captured in photographs, includes prominent alumni such as Steve Ewing, longtime Ford automobile franchisee; Cathleen Trigg-Jones, actress, producer and Emmy award-winning journalist; Aaron D. Spears, film and TV actor; SZA, multi-Grammy award singer; Eric Dickens, film and TV producer, writer and director; and John Taylor, NFL Pro Bowl and San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl-winning wide receiver.
“We are honored to represent Delaware State University’s content and champion global awareness of their story,” Illidge said.
DSU has had four names in its now 133-year history: (1891-1893) the Delaware College for Colored Students, (1893-1947) the State College for Colored Students, (1947-1993) Delaware State College and (1993-present) Delaware State University.
More than 20 years ago, DSU emerged from being known as one of the best-kept secrets among minority-serving institutions of higher education and is now known as one of the top public HBCUs in the country, stated Vita Pickrum, DSU’s vice president of institutional advancement.
“Through our partnership with Getty Images, DSU’s rich history and legacy will now be available to be seen worldwide,” she said.
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
