Katie Nash
October 4, 2013
Julia W. Covington, 1970-1971
Julia Wilson Covington was Elon College’s first full-time African-American professor. She joined the Business Administration faculty in 1970. Covington taught at Elon until August 1971 when she resigned to spend more time with her family.
Julia W. Covington was born in Cheraw, South Carolina on May 11, 1940. She was married to Francis A. Covington. In July 1970, she listed on her Elon personal data form that she had a two-year old daughter, Roxanne E. Covington. Correspondence from July 1971 states that she was expecting another child in the coming months. In May 1962 she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, SC. In August 1963 she received a Master of Business Administration degree from Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA.
During the summer of 1962 she was a bookkeeper with Allied Federal Savings and Loan Association in Jamaica, NY. From 1963-1965 and from 1967-1969 she was an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Bennett College in Greensboro, NC. At Bennett she taught courses that included: Principles of Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Cost Accounting, Federal Taxes, Business Mathematics, and Business Law. Covington also helped establish a minor in Accounting within the Business Department.
From 1966-1967 Covington was an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Fayetteville State College in Fayetteville, NC. While she was a professor at both Bennett and Fayetteville State, she also served as a partner with the firm Covington and Wilson Accounting and Management Consultants in Greensboro, NC from 1963-1969. As a partner she was responsible for installing accounting systems, maintaining accounting records, preparing non-certified financial reports, and preparing federal and state payroll. From 1965-1966 she served as a senior accountant with Operation Breakthrough, Inc., an anti-poverty program in Durham, NC. In this role, Covington prepared budgets and administered grants, and prepared reports for federal and state agencies.
Under the Oaks 
Love this…that’s my Mommy! I am that second child she was expecting in July 1971. My mother continued to teach at Bennett College in Greensboro until retiring in 2005. She still lives in Greensboro. Thanks for publishing…Stephanie S. Covington
Thank you for publishing this piece of black history about my mother, Julia W. Covington. I am the two year old daughter mentioned. She was thrilled to hear of this post and recognition of her.
Judge Roxanne E. Covington, Court of Common Pleas
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Thank you for your comment and we are glad you enjoyed the blog post. Also, thank you for sharing it with your mother!
Thank you for your comment! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the blog post, and we enjoyed writing it. Thank you for sharing it with your mother!
Thanks for sharing this post with us…its really very informative….ROC Software
Received my Belle Ringer and saw that Mrs. Covington (my favorite teacher at Bennett) had passed. My condolences to her daughters and know that you had the most caring, patient, beautiful mom who was loved by so many young ladies. She made an everlasting impression on my life and I loved reading this article.
Excellent without Excuse!
Just received a copy of Mrs. Covington’s Celebration of Life Program from a Bennett Classmate. Mrs. Covington was my professor of accounting, business law and business math at Bennett. I was “Muffin’s babysitter (Roxanne) and we spent many happy times together. Mrs. Covington loved playing scrabble so when I visited her we’d play scrabble and eat sausage pizza. I also accompanied her to High Point College to teach evening classes for Mr. Covington when he was out of town. . . . I last saw her when Dr. Johnetta Cole was inaugurated as President of Bennett College. Stephanie was born after I graduated but I saw her when she was a baby while visiting Mr. & Mrs. Covington. We lost contact but your mother will always hold a special place in my heart….I will never forget our scrabble/pizza sessions and the fun we enjoyed. Know that she touched a lot of lives and mine is one of them. RIP, my teacher/friend!