Albany State University

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Albany State University
Albany State University Seal
Albany State University Seal

Motto: ''Potential. Realized.
Established: 1903
Type: Public, HBCU [1]
President: Dr. Everette J. Freeman
Students: 4,033 [2]
Undergraduates: 3,606 [2]
Postgraduates: 427 [2]
Location: Albany, Georgia,
United States
Campus: Urban, 206-acre (833,652.4 m²)
Colors: Royal Blue and Yellow Gold
         
Nickname: Golden Ram
Athletics: NCAA Division II
Affiliations: SIAC
Website: www.asurams.edu

Albany State University is a four-year, state-supported, historically black university (HBCU) located in Albany, Georgia. It is one of three HBCU's in the University System of Georgia.

Contents

[edit] Academics and Demographics

According to U.S. News & World Report, ASU ranks number 26 out of 81 in the magazine’s first ranking of undergraduate education at HBCUs. It is ranked as a 1st tier school on the list. ASU shares its #26 ranking with Alabama A&M University, Delaware State University, Jackson State University, Kentucky State University and Stillman College. [3]

Albany State offers undergraduate and graduate liberal arts and professional degree programs.

[edit] Schools and colleges

Albany State offers more than 30 undergraduate degree programs and six advanced degrees. The university also offers the Board of Regents' engineering transfer program and the dual degree program in engineering with Georgia Tech.

  • College of Business [4]
  • College of Arts and Humanities [4]
  • College of Education [4]
  • College of Science and Health Professions [4]

The Graduate school degree programs include: Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Educational Leadership(M.Ed&Ed.S), English Education, Health and Physical Education, Mathematics Education, Middle Grades Education, Music Education, Nursing, Public Administration, School Counseling, Science Education, and Special Education. [5]

[edit] History

ASU's History at a glance
1903 Established as the Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute
1917 Became a state-supported, two year, agricultural and teacher training college and renamed to The Georgia Normal and Agricultural College
1932 Became a part of the University System of Georgia
1943 Granted four-year status and renamed to Albany State College
1981 First graduate program established
1996 Name changed to Albany State University.

[edit] Establishment

Joseph Winthrop Holley, born in 1874 to former slaves in Winnsboro, South Carolina, founded the institution in 1903 as the Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute. Two Educators, Reverend Samuel Loomis and his wife, had sent Holley to Brainerd Institute and then Revere Lay College (Massachusetts). While attending Revere Lay, Holley got to know one of the school's trustees, New England businessman, Rowland Hazard. After taking a liking to Holley, Hazard arranged for him to continue his education at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Holley aspired to become a minister and prepared by completing his education at Pennsylvania's Lincoln University.

W.E.B DuBois inspired Holley to return to the South after he read Dubois's writings on the plight of Black people in Albany, GA in The Souls of Black Folk. Holley relocated to Albany to start a school. With the help of a $2,600 gift from the Hazard family, Holley organized a board of trustees and purchased 50 acres of land for the campus, all within a year. The aim of the institution at the time, was to provide elementary education and teacher training for the local Black population. The institution became financially state supported in 1917 as a two year agricultural and teacher training college. Its new name became The Georgia Normal and Agricultural College. [6]

In 1932, The school became part of the University System of Georgia and in 1943 it was granted four-year status and renamed Albany State College. The transition to four-year status heavily increased the school's enrollment. In 1981 the college offered its first graduate program and in 1996 the name was changed to Albany State University.

Holley served as President of the school from 1903-1943. He was succeeded by Aaron Brown (1943-1954), William Dennis (1954-1965), Thomas Miller Jenkins (1965-1969), Charles Hayes (1969-1980), Billy C. Black (1980-1996), Portia Holmes Shields (1996-2005), and Everette J. Freeman (2005- Present) [6]

[edit] U.S. Civil Rights and the Albany Movement

The college played a significant role in the American Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s. Many students from the school, Black improvement organizations, and representatives from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) came to together to create the Albany Movement. The movement brought prominent civil rights leaders to the town including Martin Luther King Jr.

[edit] Present Day

Albany State University logo
Albany State University logo

Today the Albany State University student body consists of both traditional and non-traditional students who make up the more than 4,000 student population. These students come primarily from Atlanta, southwest and middle Georgia, other U.S. states and many foreign countries. The average student age is 24 and about 40 percent of the students live in on-campus housing. [7]


[edit] Campus

The school sits on a 206-acre (833,652.4 m²) campus.

[edit] Student life

[edit] Student organizations

There are over 59 clubs and organizations including bands, choirs, religious groups, honor societies, several major Greek and honor sororities and fraternities, and ROTC.

[edit] NPHC Organizations

All nine of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations currently have chapters at Albany State University. These organizations are:

Organization Symbol Chapter Chapter Symbol
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. ΑΚA Gamma Sigma ΓΣ
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. ΑΦΑ Delta Delta ΔΔ
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. ΔΣΘ Delta Rho ΔΡ
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. IΦΘ Zeta Pi
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. ΚΑΨ Delta Xi ΔΞ
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. ΩΨΦ Chi Epsilon ΧΕ
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. ΦΒΣ Beta Psi ΒΨ
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. ΣΓΡ Zeta Psi ΖΨ
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. ΖΦΒ Pi Beta ΠΒ

[edit] Marching band

Albany State's Marching Band participated in the 2007 and 2008 Honda Battle of the Bands (HBOB).

[edit] Athletics

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
2008 Football Standings
Standings for all games through March 18, 2008 (2008-03-18)
Team Conf W Conf L PCT Overall Record
Albany State University 0 0 .000 0-0-0
Benedict College 0 0 .000 0-0-0
Clark Atlanta University 0 0 .000 0-0-0
Fort Valley State University 0 0 .000 0-0-0
Kentucky State University 0 0 .000 0-0-0
Lane College 0 0 .000 0-0-0
Miles College 0 0 .000 0-0-0
Morehouse College 0 0 .000 0-0-0
Stillman College 0 0 .000 0-0-0
Tuskegee University 0 0 .000 0-0-0


Albany State University holds membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II (as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and participates in the following sports: football, basketball, baseball, cheerleading, volleyball, cross-country and track and field.

[edit] SIAC championships

Year Sport
1972-1978 Track and Field (Men's)
1980-1987
2003-2005
2005-2007 Track and Field (Women's)
1998 Volleyball(Women's)
2001-2007
1984-1986 Football
1988
1993-1997
2003-2006
1991 Baseball
1994
2000-2004
2006
2005 Softball
2007
1980 Basketball (Women's)
1981
1987
1989
1990
1996
1998
1973 Basketball (Men's )
1983-1985
1992
1997
2007
1976 Cross Country (Men’s)
1977
1979
1980-1986
1982 Cross Country (Women's)
1998
2004-2007

[edit] SEAC championships

Year Sport
1955 Football
1957
1959
1960
1962
1966

[edit] Swimming

Albany State sponsored men and women's swimming and diving teams in past years and were named National Black College Swimming and Diving Champions in 1979 and 1980.

[edit] Notable alumni

This is a list of notable alumni which includes graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Albany State University. It also reflects those alumni who attended and/or graduated from the institution under its prior historical names.

Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

See also Albany State University alumni.

Name Class year Notability Reference
James Blaylock member of the Georgia Department of Veterans Service [8]
Walter Curry National Football League defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers
Kenneth Gant former National Football League safety in the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers [9]
Caldwell Jones former American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association center best known for his years with the Philadelphia 76ers [10]
Charles Jones former National Basketball Association player who spent 15 years with various teams [11]
Major Jones former American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association forward for the San Diego Conquistadors, the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and the Detroit Pistons [12]
Wil Jones former American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Floridians, the Memphis Pros, the Memphis Tams, the Kentucky Colonels, the Indiana Pacers, and the Buffalo Braves [12]
Dan Land former National Football League safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders [9]
Bernice Johnson Reagon singer, composer, scholar, and social activist; Professor Emeritus of History at American University in Washington, DC; Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC; 2002-04 Cosby Chair Professor of Fine Arts at Spelman College in Atlanta Georgia [13]
Phelan Thomas first African American cosmetic dentist certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Aesthetic Dentistry by the American Society for Dental Aesthetics [14][15]
Rick Ross Rapper


[edit] Suggested reading

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ List of HBCUs -- White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (2007-08-16). Retrieved on 2008-01-03.
  2. ^ a b c Semester Enrollment Report (PDF). Office of Research and Policy Analysis. University System of Georgia (2007-11-12). Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  3. ^ College Rankings. U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  4. ^ a b c d Albany State University. Albany State University. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  5. ^ Summary of Supporting Application Materials Required for Degrees. Albany State University. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  6. ^ a b Albany State University. The New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
  7. ^ Albany State University. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  8. ^ Governor Perdue Announces Appointments to State Boards and Commissions. Georgia.gov. State of Georgia. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  9. ^ a b NFL Players who attended Albany State University. databaseSports.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  10. ^ Basketball-reference.com Caldwell Jones. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
  11. ^ Charles Jones. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
  12. ^ a b NBA/ABA Players who attended Albany State University. Basketballreference.com. databaseSports.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  13. ^ Bernice Johnson Reagon:Scholarship:2006 bio statement. bernicejohnsonreagon.com. songtalk publishing. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  14. ^ Classes of the 1980s. UMKC School of Dentistry - University of Missouri-Kansas City. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  15. ^ ASU Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.