| Virginia State University | |
|---|---|
| VSU | |
| Motto | "Dream, Explore, Succeed" |
| Established | March 6, 1882 |
| Type | Public, land-grant, HBCU |
| Endowment | $13.8 million[1] |
| President | Dr. Keith T. Miller |
| Academic staff | 300 |
| Students | 6,000 |
| Location | Petersburg, Virginia, United States |
| Campus | Suburban, 236 acres (95.5 ha) |
| Former names | Virginia State College for Negroes |
| Colors | Blue and Orange |
| Athletics | NCAA Division II |
| Nickname | Trojans |
| Affiliations | Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association |
| Website | www.vsu.edu |
Virginia State University is a historically black and land-grant university located north of the Appomattox River in Chesterfield, in the Richmond area. Founded on March 6, 1882, Virginia State was the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for black Americans. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.
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Following the American Civil War, William Mahone (1826–1895) of Petersburg, Virginia was the driving force in the linkage of Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, South Side Railroad and the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad in 1870 to form the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad (AM&O), a new line extending from Norfolk to Bristol. After several years of operating under receiverships, Mahone's role as a railroad builder ended in 1881 when the AM&O was sold at auction to form the Norfolk and Western Railway.
Mahone, a former Confederate general best known as the hero of the Battle of the Crater, later led Virginia's Readjuster Party and was a major proponent of public schools for the education of the former slaves and free blacks. He became a United States Senator from Virginia, and arranged for the proceeds of the AM&O sale to help found a school for teachers near Petersburg. In 1882, the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute at Petersburg was established. State delegate Alfred W. Harris, a black attorney, introduced the bill that established the institute.
| “ | "The next morning I asked my father about the school for coloured people, which was being projected under the influence of General Mahone at Petersburg, now a State Normal School. He told me much about it. It was to open the following fall. The Hon. John M. Langston, he said, a coloured man who was as well educated as any white person that he knew of, was to be the president. He said I might go if I wished and that he would do what he could to help me. It being a state school, and he having certain strong friends in the Republican Party (General Mahone among them), Hon. B.S. Hooper, a member of Congress from the Fourth Congressional District of Virginia, would probably arrange for me to have a scholarship." | ” |
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—Robert Russa Moton, Finding a Way Out[2][3] |
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The school was designated one of Virginia's land grant colleges in response to the 1890 Amendments to the Morrill Act, which required that states either open their land-grant colleges to all races or else establish a separate land-grant educational facilities for blacks.
Virginia State's first president was John Mercer Langston, who later became the first African-American elected to Congress from Virginia. The board of trustees was almost entirely African-American, except for one member. The faculty of the collegiate program and the normal school was African-American until the mid-1960s.
In 1902, the legislature revised the school's charter and renamed it the Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. In 1923, the college was renamed Virginia State College for Negroes, shortened to Virginia State College in 1946, and finally renamed Virginia State University in 1979. Meanwhile, the school's two-year branch in Norfolk, Virginia, founded in 1935, became Norfolk State College, now known as Norfolk State University.
| The third season of BET's reality television series College Hill was filmed at Virginia State University in 2006. |
In 2003, the university accepted its first students in its first Ph.D. program.
On July 1, 2010, President Keith T. Miller was named the 13th President of Virginia State University. He previously served as president of Lock Haven University. Miller earned his bachelor, master and doctoral degrees from the University of Arizona.
The university has a 236-acre (0.96 km2) main campus and a 416-acre (1.68 km2) agricultural research facility. The main campus includes more than 50 buildings, including 15 dormitories and 16 classroom buildings. The main campus sits atop a rolling landscape overlooking the Appomattox River in Petersburg, Virginia
Virginia State University uses the term "Residence Hall" rather than 'Dormitory', which is derived from the Latin word "dormitorium" which means "place to sleep". A residence hall is considered a home-away-from-home, a campus community, not simply a place to sleep.[4]
Branch Hall is a freshmen female residence hall at Virginia State University and was erected during the 1949-1950 academic year. This four story, five-wing residence hall is named for the late Mary E. Branch, the first graduate of the institution to become president of a college. In 1930 she became the first Black woman to be appointed the president of Tillotson Teachers' College in Austin Texas. Each wing in Branch Hall is equipped with one community bathroom.[5]
Byrd Hall, a freshmen female residence hall was named in honor of The Honorable Harry Flood Byrd, Former Governor of Virginia. This five story, nine wing residence hall was erected during the 1929-1930 school year from funds derived from the Noell Act and from appropriations made by the General Education Board. Byrd Hall is equipped with three large air-conditioned lobbies, individual air conditioning units in each room, recreational areas, a quiet study room, laundry facilities and a computer lab that has high speed internet connectivity. Each wing of Byrd Hall shares a community bathroom.[6]
Howard Hall, a female freshmen residence hall, was named in honor of Otelia Sheild Howard an English teacher and an adviser to the Virginia Statesman newspaper. Howard Hall features central air- conditioning throughout the building and two community bathrooms per floor. It also has laundry facilities and a computer lab with Internet and word processing capabilities.[7]
Eggleston Hall, an all female residence hall for freshmen students, is named in honor of Dr. Joseph D. Eggleston. Eggleston was a former member of the Board of Visitors at Virginia State College. This three-story brick residence hall was completed in the 1927-1928 academic school year. This residence hall features an air-conditioned lobby area where students can relax, laundry facilities and a computer lab with Internet and word processing capabilities.[8]
Puryear Hall, a four-story, freshmen male residence hall was erected in 1959 and is named in honor of Rev. Thomas Puryear, a former Dean of Men, football and baseball coach at Virginia State University. Puryear Hall features an air-conditioned lobby and recreation room where students can relax along with two community bathrooms on each floor. It also has laundry facilities and a computer lab with internet and word processing capabilities.[9]
Seward Hall, a three-story brick co-educational residence hall, was erected in 1926-1927. This three-story residence hall was named for Hatcher S. Seward, a member of the Board of Visitors from Petersburg. Seward is equipped with air conditioners in each room for the resident’s convenience and features laundry facilities, mail service and a computer lab that has internet access. Each floor of Seward Hall is equipped with two community bathrooms.[10]
Williams Hall, a freshmen male residence hall, was named in honor of Professor Daniel Barclay Williams who taught at the college for many years. This three story, 6 wing building was begun in 1934 and completed in 1935. Williams Hall is equipped with an air-conditioned lobby where students can relax, a recreational area, laundry facilities and a computer lab that has internet access and word processing capabilities. It is also equipped with one community bathroom per wing.[11]
Langston Hall, a freshmen co-educational honors hall was built in the 1928-1929 school year and named for Mr. John Mercer Langston, the first president of the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. Langston Hall has been completely renovated and features a lobby where students can relax on the first floor, as well as, lounges on each floor. Although it is a co-educational residence hall, each floor or wing is designated as male or female only. The residence hall has laundry facilities, mail services and a computer lab that has internet access and word processing capabilities. This residence hall contains single rooms, single suites, double rooms and double suites.[12]
Moore Hall, a co-educational suite style residence hall was completed in August 2008. It is named in honor of Eddie N. Moore, Jr. the universities 12th president and his wife Elisia. Students are able to choose from the following floor plans: Suite A (4-party single), Suite B (4-party double), Suite C (2-party single), Suite E (single suite). Each suite in Moore Hall is equipped with a refrigerator and microwave along with personal room controls for heat and air conditioning. The hall boasts of smart classrooms, a computer lab, laundry facilities, a game room, wellness center and salon.[13]
Quad Hall is a co-educational residence hall completed in 2010. The Quad consist of two L-shaped residence halls connected by a singular lobby. The two buildings (Quad A and B) house 458 national exchange, and upper-class students. Quad Hall includes one and two-bedroom units with both handicap and hearing impaired units. All double rooms are equipped with a private bathroom and all single rooms are suite style (two singles share one bathroom). Amenities include study lounges on each floor, computer laboratories, laundry facilities, smart classrooms, multipurpose rooms and a kitchen in each building. Shared spaces between the two buildings will include a central main entrance and lobby, a main commons area, a wellness center, a game room and a beauty/barber salon.[14]
Located across from Rogers Stadium, the Student Village Complex or more commonly referred to as "The Vill," provides housing for returning Virginia State University students. The Student Village includes, Taylor-Williams, a female residence hall; Barrett-Jackson and Nicholas Hall; both Co-ed residence halls and Powell Pavilion. Due to its distance from main campus, students often refer to the Student Village Complex as the "The Suburbs" and main campus as "The City."
Taylor-Williams Hall (Buildings A & B) is a residence hall for upper-class females and named in honor of two world renowned alumni of Virginia State University.[15] Dr. Billy Taylor, a jazz musician, and Dr. Camilla Ella Williams an opera artist. This three story, six-wing residence hall was built in 1980 as part of the village complex. Each wing is equipped with two community bathrooms. This residence hall features an air-conditioned lobby on each floor along with a computer lab on the first floor.
Barrett-Jackson Hall (Student Village Buildings C & D) is a co-ed residence hall named in honor of Miss Julia Louise Barrett the Director of Admissions and Registrar from 1926 to 1965 and Mr. Henry Colson Jackson who served as Dean of Men.[16] This three story, six-wing residence hall was built in 1980 as part of the village complex. Each wing is equipped with two community bathrooms. This residence hall features an air-conditioned lobby on each floor along with a computer lab on the first floor.
Nicholas Hall (Building E), a co-educational upper-class Residence Hall, was named in honor of James F. Nicholas who in 1944 was invited to join the faculty of Virginia State College where he became an instructor in education and principal of the high school.[17] This three story residence hall was built in 1980 as part of the village complex. Each wing is equipped with two community bathrooms. This residence hall features an air-conditioned lobby on each floor along with a computer lab on the first floor.
This is a list of the departments within each School:[18]
The university also has the Office for International Education and the Institute for Study of Race Relations.
The 2009-2010 student body is 62.2% female and 37.5% male.[19] It consists of 69.7% in-state and 30.3% out-of-state students.[19] 97.2% of students live on campus and 2.8% off-campus.[19] 91.1% of students self-identify as Black/African American, while 4.0% are White, and 4.0% are racially unreported.
Directed by, Dr. Mark W Phillips, the VSU Trojan Explosion has approximately 170 members including the Essence of Troy Dancers, The Satin Divas Flag Corps, The Troy Elegance Majorette Squad in addition to the instrumentalists.[20]
Originally led by head coach Dr. Paulette Johnson for 35 years the Woo Woo's are a nationally recognized cheerleading squad known for original, up-tempo and high energy performances. The 30 member squad is composed of young women from all over the country. The squad focuses on community service as well as promoting school spirit. Tryouts are held annually during the spring semester for VSU full-time students. Instructional camps and workshops are offered throughout the state. In 2001, the University granted the Woo Woo Alumni chapter its initial charter. The organization has a rapidly growing membership that is actively involved in the promotion of the squad and its individual members. Shandra Claiborne, a former woo woo,is now in charge of cheerleading for all Virginia State University athletic teams.[21]
This list includes graduates, non-graduate former students and current students of Virginia State University.
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaye Adegbalola | 1978 | Blues singer and civil rights activist | |
| Reginald Lewis | Businessman; owner of TLC Beatrice International | ||
| William H. Lewis | c. 1890 | former United States Assistant Attorney General | |
| Joe Bonner | jazz pianist | [22] | |
| Herman Branson | 1936 | African American physicist, best known for his research on the alpha helix protein structure | [23] |
| Dr.Rovenia M. Brock | Bnutritionist, lecturer, health reporter, entrepreneur, and author | [24] | |
| James Avery | Actor | ||
| Roger L. Gregory | 1975 | Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit | [25] |
| Camilla Williams | First African-American to receive a contract from a major American opera company | ||
| Larry Brooks | 1971 | former NFL defensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams and current assistant coach of the Virginia State Trojans football team | |
| James Brown | former NFL player | ||
| Pamela E. Bridgewater | former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and current U.S. ambassador to Jamaica | ||
| Thomas Miller | prolific graphic designer and visual artist, whose best known publicly accessible work is the collection of mosaics of the founders of DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois. | [26] | |
| Willie Harris | Lt. Col., Chief of Command Information U.S.A. Reserve | ||
| Wale Folarin | DC Rapper (transferred to Bowie State University) | ||
| Aaron Hall | attended | member of the Music Group Guy | |
| Damion Hall | attended | member of the Music Group Guy | |
| Das EFX | attended | rap group | |
| Myles "Ray" Cunningham | 2006 | one of eight cast members on season 3 of BET's College Hill reality series | [27] |
| Rosalyn Dance | 1986 | politician, Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 63rd district |
[28] |
| Héctor Martínez Muñoz | first member of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico | ||
| Delores G. Kelley | 1956 | member of Maryland State Senate, representing Maryland's District 10 in Baltimore County, Maryland | |
| Naomi Long Madgett | 1945 | teacher and an award winning poet, she is also the senior editor of Lotus Press, which is a publisher of poetry books by African-American poets | [29] |
| Dr. James H. Stith | 1963 | African-American physicist and current professor of Physics at Ohio State University | [30] |
| Roslyn Tyler | politician, Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 75th district |
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| Billy Taylor | Jazz musician | ||
| Avis Wyatt | 2007? | Professional basketball player | |
| Ronica Wynder | 2004 | Television Producer & Fiction Author |
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