Alabama State University

Alabama State University

Motto	“Opportunity is Here”
Type	Public, HBCU
Established	1867
Academic affiliations	TMCF AASCU
Endowment	$93 million[1]
President	Quinton T. Ross Jr.
Provost	Leon C. Wilson
Students	5,475
Undergraduates	5,116
Location	Montgomery , Alabama , United States
Campus	Urban, 172-acres[2]
Colors	Black and Old gold
Nickname	Hornets and Lady Hornets
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I FCS – SWAC
Website	www.alasu.edu

Alabama State University (ASU) is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

History[edit]

Alabama State University was founded in 1867 as the Lincoln Normal School of Marion in Marion. In December 1873, the State Board accepted the transfer of title to the school after a legislative act was passed authorizing the state to fund a Normal School, and George N. Card was named president. Thus, in 1874, this predecessor of Alabama State University became America's first state-supported educational institution for blacks; this began ASU's history as a "teachers' college."

In 1878, the second president, William Paterson, was appointed, he is honored as a founder of Alabama State University and was the president for 37 of the school's first 48 years. Paterson was instrumental in the move from Marion to Montgomery in 1887.

In 1887, the university opened in its new location in Montgomery, but an Alabama State Supreme Court ruling forced the school to change its name; it was renamed the Normal School for Colored Students; the campus was chosen in 1889 although preparing the buildings at the site took a while longer.^[3]

In the decades that followed, Lincoln Normal School became a junior college, and in 1928 became a full four-year institution. In 1929 it became State Teachers College, Alabama State College for Negroes in 1948, and Alabama State College in 1954. In 1969, the State Board of Education, then the governing body of the university, approved a name change; the institution became Alabama State University.

The 1995 Knight vs. Alabama remedial decree transformed ASU into a comprehensive regional institution paving the way for two new undergraduate programs, four new graduate programs, diversity scholarship funding and endowment, funding to build a state-of-the art health sciences facility, and a facility renewal allocation to refurbish three existing buildings.

WVAS-FM was launched on June 15, 1984, beaming 25,000 watts of power from the fifth floor of the Levi Watkins Learning Center for two years before moving to its current location at Thomas Kilby Hall. Today, WVAS has grown to 80,000 watts and has a listenership that spans 18 counties, reaching a total population of more than 651,000. In recent years, the station has also begun streaming its broadcast via the Web, connecting a global audience to the university.

The early 1990s witnessed the beginning of WAPR-FM (Alabama Public Radio), which Alabama State University and Troy University, both of which already held station licenses of their own, cooperated with the University of Alabama in building and operating. WAPR-FM 88.3—Selma's signal reaches the region known colloquially as the Black Belt, about 13 counties in the west central and central parts of Alabama, including the city of Montgomery.

The university experienced some tension with the state government in 2013 and 2014. In December 2012, university president Joseph Silver resigned after only six months in the job. In October 2013, the state governor asked the university to halt its ongoing presidential search to address an audit that alleged that "ASU attempted to thwart and hamper the audit," that several trustees had received improper benefits, and that there had been significant financial mismanagement; the audit was ordered to investigate Silver's claims that he was forced to resign because he questioned "suspicious contracts" at the university.^[4] Nine months later, the governor requested that the chairman and vice chairman of the university's board of trustees resign for alleged conflict-of-interest violations; the chairman resigned, and the governor removed the vice chairman.^[5] During the November 4th hearing, Alabama State University Board of Trustees voted 8–6 to place University President Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd on paid leave for failure to maintain confidence of the board. A public hearing was held on November 14 and December 16, 2016, where Boyd responded to the charges. Finally, after deliberating for six hours, the Alabama State University Board of trustees voted 8–6 to terminate Boyd's employment contract. Board chairman Ralph Ruggs assembled a special committee to conduct a nationwide search for Boyd's replacement, headed by trustee Angela McKenzie.

Presidents[edit]

• 1874–1878: George N. Card
• 1878–1915: William Burns Paterson
• 1915–1920: John William Beverly
• 1920–1925: George Washington Trenholm
• 1925–1961: Harper Councill Trenholm
• 1961–1962: Robert C. Hatch (interim president)
• 1962–1981: Dr. Levi Watkins Sr.
• 1981–1983: Dr. Robert L. Randolph
• 1983–1991: Dr. Leon Howard
• 1991–1994: Dr. Clifford C. Baker
• 1994–2000: Dr. William Hamilton Harris
• 2000–2001: Dr. Roosevelt Steptoe (interim president)
• 2001–2008: Dr. Joe A. Lee
• 2008–2012: Dr. William Hamilton Harris
• 2012: Dr. Joseph H. Silver Sr.
• 2012–2014: Dr. William Hamilton Harris (interim president)
• 2014–2016: Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn E. Boyd
• 2016–2017: Dr. Leon C. Wilson (interim president)
• 2017–present: Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr.

Academics[edit]

Alabama State University has nearly 6,000 students from more than 42 states and over twenty countries.^[6]

ASU has eight degree-granting colleges, schools, or divisions:

• College of Business Administration
• College of Education
• College of Health Sciences
• College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
• College of Science, Mathematics & Technology
• College of Visual & Performing Arts
• Division of Aerospace Studies
• Continuing Education

Alabama State offers 47 degree programs including 31 bachelor's, 11 master's, two Education Specialist and three doctoral programs, Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Law, Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy, and a Doctorate in Microbiology. In addition, the university offers the W.E.B. DuBois Honors Program for undergraduate students who meet the above average performance criteria.^[7]

Due to Alabama State offering only one engineering degree program (B.S. in Biomedical Engineering), the university established a dual degree engineering program with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) that gives qualified ASU students automatic admissions into UAB's undergraduate engineering program. ASU undergraduate students who successfully complete the program will receive a STEM related bachelor's degree from ASU and an engineering bachelor's degree from UAB in approximately five years.^[8]

Alabama State is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the National Association of Schools of Music, the National Association of Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy, the Commission of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM, the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST), and the Council of Social Work Education.^[9]

Campus[edit]

ASU's urban, 172-acre (0.70 km2) campus has Georgian-style red-brick classroom buildings and architecturally contemporary structures. ASU is home to the state-of-the-art 7,400-seat academic and sports facility the ASU Acadome; the Levi Watkins Learning Center, a five-story brick structure with more than 267,000 volumes; the state-of-the-art John L. Buskey Health Sciences Center which is an 80,000 square foot (7,400 m2) facility which houses classrooms, offices, an interdisciplinary clinic, three therapeutic rehabilitation labs, a state-of-the-art Gross Anatomy Lab, Laboratory for the Analysis of Human Motion (LAHM), a Women's Health/Cardiopulmonary lab, and a health sciences computer lab; and WVAS-FM 90.7, the 80,000-watt, university operated public radio station.

Student life[edit]

More than 70 student organizations are chartered at Alabama State, including nine National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek-letter organizations, a full range of men's and women's intramural and intercollegiate sports, and 17 honors organizations. In addition to social, cultural and religious groups, there are musical opportunities, such as the marching and symphonic bands, the choir, and departmental organizations for most majors; the Hornets also have a Student Government Association, in which every student at the university holds membership. The current SGA President at Alabama State University is Jaylon Pickett.

Student publications[edit]

Students are served by two media publications, The Hornet Tribune (student newspaper) and The Hornet (the student yearbook).

Athletics[edit]

The Alabama State University Department of Athletics currently sponsors men's intercollegiate football, baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, track and cheerleading, along with women's intercollegiate basketball, soccer, softball, bowling, tennis, track, volleyball, golf and cheerleading. Sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (FCS – Football Championship Subdivision for football) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), which it joined in 1982; the university's colors are black and old gold and their nickname is the Hornets.

The Mighty Marching Hornets[edit]

Alabama State's marching band is officially known as "The Mighty Marching Hornets"; the band has been invited several times to the Honda Battle of the Bands and has been nationally recognized.

The Mighty Marching Hornets were stars of a documentary series, Bama State Style, which offered a peek into the lives of the students in the band. In 2016, The Mighty Marching Hornets made an appearance in Ang Lee's film Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.^[10] In 2017, the band's 2012 halftime performance at the Magic City Classic garnered over three million views on YouTube. In 2019, the marching band performed in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California on New Year's Day.

The featured auxiliary is The Sensational Stingettes, a danceline that debuted in 1977, they were invited to appear in the "Give It 2 U" music video and live performance with artists Robin Thicke, Kendrick Lamar, and 2 Chainz.^[11][12]Also, they were shown in Beyonce's Netflix special "HΘMΣCΘMING: A film by Beyonce".^[13]

The most recently added auxiliary is The Honey-Beez, a danceline composed of only plus-size young women that debuted in 2004.^[14] In 2017, they were selected to showcase their talents and compete on America's Got Talent.^[15]

The Mighty Marching Hornets are traditionally led by four or five drum majors; the band perform at select football games, all basketball SWAC home games, and other special events.

The Bama State Collegians[edit]

The Bama State Collegians is a big band jazz orchestra sponsored by Alabama State University. In the 1930s, the ensemble was directed by noted jazz trumpeter Erskine Hawkins, an inductee of both the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. After moving to New York City, the Collegians, directed by Hawkins, became the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra and produced a string of national hit records, including "Tuxedo Junction", "After Hours", "Tippin' In" and others; the song "Tuxedo Junction", with its recordings by Hawkins and by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, became one of the anthems of World War II. In 2011, Hawkins' story of and his start in the Bama State Collegians was the subject of a Florida State University Film School MFA thesis film, The Collegians, written and directed by Alabama State University alumnus Bryan Lewis.^[16][17][18]

See also[edit]

• WVAS 90.7 FM Radio, Alabama State radio station
• Magic City Classic, The largest HBCU event and FCS football game in the nation

Notable alumni[edit]

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
2 Chainz		American rapper, played basketball for two seasons while attending
Ralph David Abernathy	1950	civil rights leader and minister
Reggie Barlow	1996	former professional football wide receiver and current head football coach at Virginia State University
Brad Baxter		former football running back who played 6 seasons in the NFL for the New York Jets (1989–1995)
Clarence Carter	1960	soul singer and musician, best known for his hits "Strokin'", "Patches", and "Snatching It Back"	[19]
London "Deelishis" Charles		winner of reality show Flavor of Love 2
Michael Coe	2007	NFL defensive back
James Daniel	1974	tight ends coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Steven Daniel	1993	actor and comedian
Fred Gray		attorney who represented Rosa Parks during the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Erskine Hawkins		jazz musician, composer of "Tuxedo Junction"
Tarvaris Jackson	2006	professional football player, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks	[20]
Terren Jones	2012	NFL offensive lineman
Lil Yachty		vocalist
Kevin Loder	1981	former NBA player for the Kansas City Kings and San Diego Clippers
Manny Martin		former NFL defensive back for the Buffalo Bills during the 1990s
Tangi Miller	1993	actress with The WB's Felicity
Travis Pearson		former Arena Football League player
Eddie Robinson		former linebacker, who played 11 seasons in the NFL for the Houston Oilers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, and the Buffalo Bills; started for the Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV
Quinton Ross		member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 26th District
Eugene Sawyer		politician and businessman, Mayor of Chicago 1987–1989	[21]
Dr. Fred Shuttlesworth		civil rights leader and minister, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Council
Rickey Smiley		comedian and actor
Felix Stallings, Jr.		electronica artist, producer, and DJ Felix da housecat
Jessie Tompkins	1998	former nationally ranking athlete in track and field; head coach for the East Montgomery Track Club; first African America student to challenge the State of Alabama’s White-only, race-based scholarships	[22][23]
Fred Wesley		jazz and funk trombonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s
Jesse White		37th Secretary of State of Illinois
Doug Williams	1995	comedian and actor
Marcus Winn		former linebacker for the Edmonton Eskimos and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League

Notable faculty[edit]

Name	Department	Notability	Reference
Alvin Holmes		alumnus and member of the Alabama State Legislature, representing the 78th District (Montgomery)	[24]
Jo Ann Robinson		leader in the Montgomery, Alabama Women's Political Council and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Tonea Stewart	Theatre	actress, playwright, and Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts	[25]
Josephine Turpin Washington	Mathematics	1886 Howard University alumnus, early writer on civil rights topics	[26]
Sheyann Webb-Christburg		notable civil rights activist, author of Selma Lord Selma! and Dr. Martin Luther King's proclaimed "smallest freedom fighter"

Further reading[edit]

• Bond, Horace Mann (1969) [1939]. Negro Education in Alabama A Study in Cotton and Steel. New York: Octagon Books.
• Caver, Joseph (1982). A Twenty-Year History of Alabama State University, 1867–1887." Master's thesis. Alabama State University.
• Knight v. Alabama, 933 F.2D. 1991.
• United States v. Alabama, 828 F.2D 1532. 11th Cir. 1987.
• Watkins, Levi (1987). Fighting Hard: The Alabama State University Experience. Detroit, Mich.: Harlo Press.
• Westhauser, Karl E.; Elaine M. Smith; Jennifer A. Fremlin, eds (2005). Creating Community: Life and Learning at Montgomery's Black University. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Alabama State University at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website

Coordinates: 32°21′50″N 86°17′42″W / 32.364°N 86.295°W / 32.364; -86.295

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