Alcorn State University

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Alcorn State University
Established:	1871
Type:	Public
President:	George Ross Ph.D., C.P.A.
Students:	3,668
Location:	Lorman, Mississippi, United States
Campus:	1,700 acres (6.9 km²)
Colors:	Purple and Gold
Nickname:	Braves; Alcorn A's
Website:	http://www.alcorn.edu

Alcorn State University, located near Lorman, Mississippi, United States, is a public land grant university. It was founded in 1871 as the nation's first state-supported higher education institution for blacks. Alcorn State University is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.

[edit] History

Alcorn State University was founded on the site originally occupied by the Oakland College, a school for whites established by the Presbyterian Church. Oakland College closed its doors at the beginning of the Civil War so that its students could answer the call to arms. Upon failing to reopen at the end of the war, the property was sold to the state of Mississippi and renamed Alcorn University in honor of James L. Alcorn in 1871, then governor of the state of Mississippi.

The college opened with eight faculty members and 179 students in three buildings on a 225 acre (0.9 km²) campus.

Hiram R. Revels resigned his seat in the United States Senate to become Alcorn's first president. The state legislature provided $50,000 in cash for ten successive years for the establishment and overall operations of the college. The state also granted Alcorn three-fifths of the proceeds earned from the sale of thirty thousand acres (120 km²) of land scrip for agricultural colleges. The land was sold for $188,928 with Alcorn receiving a share of $113,400. This money was to be used solely for the agricultural and mechanical components of the college. From its beginning, Alcorn State University was a land-grant college.

In 1878, the name Alcorn University was changed to Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. The goals for the college set by the Mississippi legislature clearly emphasized training rather than education. The school, like other black schools during these years, was less a college than a trade school.

At first the school was exclusively for black males but in 1895 women were admitted.

In 1974 Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College became Alcorn State University. Governor William L. Waller signed House Bill 298 granting university status to Alcorn and the other state supported colleges.

Alcorn has had sixteen presidents. Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr. became president of the university in 1995 and held the post until he suddenly died on August 19, 2006. [1] Dr. Malvin Williams was named Alcorn's interim president after Bristow's death. [2]

Of these, Dr. Walter Washington, who assumed the presidency in 1969, was the longest-tenured president in Alcorn's history. On March 27, 2007, the Mississippi Institution of Higher Learning named George E. Ross [3] Ph.D., CPA, Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services at Central Michigan University as a possible candidate for the presidency. Alcorn officially named Ross as its seventeenth president on April 3, 2007. [4]Dr. Ross was diagnosed in May 2007 with acute leukemia and is being treated at University Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[5]Dr. George Ross took office on January 2, 2008 as the Sevententh President of Alcorn State University.

[edit] Students and Faculty

The university enrolls over 3,200 full-time and 220 part-time undergraduate students and 175 graduate students. Women outnumber men in a ratio 3:2.

[edit] Organization

The university is made up of seven schools, offering over 50 different fields of study.

*School of Agriculture, Research, Extension and Applied Sciences

Department of Agriculture

Bachelor of Science in General Agriculture

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics

International Agriculture Option

Bachelor of Science in Animal Science

Veterinary Science Option

Bachelor of Science in Plant and Soil Science Forestry Option

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

Bachelor of Applied Science Education: Agricultural Education Endorsement.

Department of Advanced Technologies

Applied Science

Geographical Information Science and Technology (GIS&T)

Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology

Health Physics

Computer Networking and Information Technology

Robotics and Automation Technology

Pre-Engineering

Department of Human Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics

Bachelor of Science in Child Development

*School of Arts and Sciences

Department of Biological Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Biology

Pre-Professional Program Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Pharmacy, and Pre-Medicine Biology Education Concentration Environmental Biology/Ecology Concentration Physical Therapy Concentration

Bachelor of Science in Health Science

Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science

Department of Chemistry and Physics

Chemistry

Biochemistry

Chemical Physics

Chemistry Education

Department of Communications

Department of English and Foreign Languages

Literature

English Education

Department of Fine Arts

Music Education

Performance

Department of Mathematical Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Mathematics Mathematics Education

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Department of Military Sciences

Department of Social Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Economics

Bachelor of Arts in History

History Concentration History Education Concentration

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

Political Science Concentration Pre-Law Concentration

Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Social Work

Sociology Concentration Social Work Concentration Mental Health Concentration

Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice

*School of Graduate Studies

Master of Arts in Teaching

Master of Business Administration

Master of Business Administration

Hospitality and Gaming Management

Master of Science in Agriculture

Agronomy Animal Science Agricultural Economics

Master of Science in Biology

Master of Science in Biotechnology

Master of Science in Computer and Information Science

Master of Science in Nursing

Specialist in Elementary Education

Master of Science in Workforce Educational Leadership

Master of Science in Education

Elementary Education (Endorsement Areas) Early Childhood Education Reading

Secondary Education

(Endorsement Areas) Agriculture Biology Chemistry English Mathematics Nutrition Science Social Science

Special Subject Fields

(Endorsement Areas) Guidance Education Health and Physical Education Special Education

'*School of Business

Accounting

Business Administration

*School of Education and Psychology

Department of Education and Psychology

Elementary Education Special Education Psychology General Studies

Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation

Health and Physical Education

Recreation

Sports Medicine

• School of Nursing

Department of Associate Degree Nursing

Department of Baccalaureate Nursing

Department of Graduate Nursing

• College for Excellence

[edit] Campus

The main campus is located near Lorman, Mississippi, while the Nursing School and the Business School's Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is located in Natchez, Mississippi. There is also a Vicksburg, Mississippi site.

The campus includes approximately 80 modern structures with an approximate value of $71 million. Currently there are several construction projects underway.

• $12 million Dining Commons (Completed)
• Biotechnology Facility
• School of Business (Dumas Hall) renovations
• 5 mi. Bike/Walking Trail (Completed)
• Ecology and Natural Resources Facility
• Baseball Stadium construction (Completed)
• Fine Arts Renovation
• Construction of Residence halls and faculty housing (Scheduled to begin Fall 2008)

• Radio station: WPRL 91.7 FM

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] External links

• Alcorn State University Website
• Official Alumni Organization
• alcorn1871-Unofficial Alumni Tribute Site
• Alcorn State University Marching Band - "The Sounds of Dyn-O-mite"