During the Civil War, the 62nd Colored Infantry regiment of the U.S. Army, largely recruited in Missouri, set up educational programs for its soldiers.

At the end of the war it raised $6,300 to set up a black school, headed by a white abolitionist officer, Richard Foster, and founded by James Milton Turner, a student and protege of John Berry Meachum.

[9] In 2024, Lincoln University alumni called for president John B. Moseley to step down following the suicide of vice-president Antoinette Candia-Bailey.

President of the Board of Curators, Victor B. Pasley, stated “during this exhaustive, independent investigation, no evidence was found that Dr. Moseley bullied Dr.

The university is a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) since the 2024–25 academic year.

[27] The alma mater is sung to the tune of "Ach wie ist's möglich dann", a German folk song published in 1827 and variously credited to Georg Heinrich or Friedrich Silcher Kuchen (the West Point and Wake Forest alma mater songs use the same melody).

Homecoming, usually held in October, is a celebratory time when family and friends of Lincoln University convene to participate in gala activities.