Alcorn State University

Alcorn State University was the first black land grant college in the country. Congress required that states with segregated educational institutions (as was maintained throughout the former Confederacy) designate black land grant colleges in order to receive land grant monies for white colleges, as Congress had authorized the program to benefit students of all races. Alcorn University started with what is recognized as three historic buildings.[4][5][6]

United States Senator Hiram R. Revels resigned his seat when he accepted the position as 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 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) of land scrip for agricultural or land grant colleges under federal legislation. The land was sold for $188,928 with Alcorn receiving a share of $113,400. This money was to be used solely to support the agricultural and mechanical components of the college, which Congress wanted to develop nationally. 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 university's original 225 acres (0.91 km²) of land have been expanded to develop a 1,700 acres (6.9 km²) campus. The goals for the college set by the Mississippi legislature following the Reconstruction era emphasized training for blacks rather than academic education. The school, like other black schools during these years, was less a college than a vocational school intended to prepare students for the agricultural economy of the state and of most of their hometowns.

At first the school was exclusively for black males, but women were admitted in 1895. Today, women outnumber men at the university 1800 to 1200. Alcorn began with eight faculty members in 1871. Today the faculty and staff number more than 500. The student body has grown from 179 mostly local male students to more than 4,000 students from all over the world.

In 1974, Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College was renamed Alcorn State University, representing the development of its programs. Governor William L. Waller signed House Bill 298 granting university status to Alcorn and the other state-supported colleges. Alcorn had already become a more diversified university, with graduate programs. It provides an undergraduate education that enables students to continue their work in graduate and professional schools, engage in teaching, and enter other professions. It also provides graduate education to equip students for further training in specialized fields.

In 2020, MacKenzie Scott donated $25 million to Alcorn State. Her donation is the largest single gift in Alcorn State's history.[7]

Alcorn State is accredited, with seven schools and degree programs in more than 50 areas, including a nursing and a Master of Business Administration program. The facilities number approximately 80 modern structures with an approximate value of $71 million.[8]

Alcorn State is the second largest HBCU and fifth largest university in Mississippi with an enrollment of approximately 3,700 undergraduate students and 600 graduate students. The university has seven schools, offering more than 50 different fields of study.

• School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences
• School of Arts and Sciences
• School of Business
• School of Education and Psychology
• School of Nursing

Alcorn State University consistently ranks among the top 25 HBCUs in the nation according to the annual U.S. News & World Report HBCU rankings.[11]

Alcorn State University is the only HBCU in Mississippi with a comprehensive nursing program.[12]

Alcorn's honors program is an option for highly qualified undergraduate students seeking to enhance their academic experience and leadership skills.[13]

The main campus is located in Lorman, an unincorporated area in Claiborne County, Mississippi. The Nursing School and the Business School's Master of Business Administration (MBA) program are located in Natchez, Mississippi. The university also has a class center in Vicksburg.

Alcorn athletics logo

Alcorn State's 15 NCAA Division I level varsity teams compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Alcorn State University's marching band was founded in the 1960s; the band is known as the "Sounds of Dyn-O-mite" (SOD). Led by four or five drum majors, SOD has more than 190+ members.

The "Golden Girls" (GGs) is the established danceline that has been featured with SOD since its inception. In 1968, the GGs became the first danceline (no twirling batons) to be featured with a HBCU marching band which is why they often refer to themselves as the "Mother of the HBCU dancelines."[18]

• Official website