Alabama State University

Former name	Lincoln Normal School of Marion (1867–1887) Normal School for Colored Students (1887–1929) State Teachers College (1929–1948) Alabama State College for Negroes (1948–1954) Alabama State College (1954–1969)
Type	Publichistorically black university
Established	1867; 158 years ago (1867)
Academic affiliations	TMCF
Endowment	$125 million (2024)[1]
President	Quinton T. Ross Jr.
Provost	Carl Pettis
Students	5,475
Undergraduates	5,116
Location	Montgomery, Alabama , United States
Campus	Urban, 172-acres[2]
Newspaper	The Hornet Tribune[3]
Colors	Black and Old gold
Nickname	Hornets and Lady Hornets
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division IFCS –SWAC
Website	www.alasu.edu

Alabama State University (Alabama State,Bama State, orASU) is apublicHistorically Black University (HBCU) inMontgomery, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1867 during theReconstruction era, it was one of about 180 "normal schools" established by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. It was one of 23 established to train African Americans to teach in segregated schools.^[4] ASU is a member-school of theThurgood Marshall College Fund.

Alabama State's athletic teams, known as theHornets, compete inNCAA Division I as members of theSouthwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

Alabama State University was founded in 1867 as theLincoln Normal School of Marion inMarion. In December 1874, 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."^[5]

The second president,William Burns Paterson, was appointed in 1878. 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.^[5]

In 1887, the university opened in its new location in Montgomery, but anAlabama State Supreme Court ruling forced the school to change its name; it was renamed theNormal School for Colored Students. The campus was chosen in 1889 although preparing the buildings at the site took a while longer.^[6]

In the decades that followed, Lincoln Normal School became a junior college, and in 1928 became a full four-year institution. In 1929 it becameState Teachers College,Alabama State College for Negroes in 1948, andAlabama 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.^[5]

The 1995Knight 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.^[5]

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.^[5]

The early 1990s witnessed the beginning ofWAPR-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 theBlack Belt, about 13 counties in the west central and central parts of Alabama, including the city of Montgomery.^[5]

In 2021, ASU received a $24.7 million federal grant from theU.S. Department of Education to helpMontgomery Public Schools students better prepare for ahigher education. This is the largest single grant in the history of the institution.^[7]

Interim presidents excluded

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, 2 Education Specialist, and 3 doctoral programs. In addition, the university offers the W.E.B. DuBois Honors Program for undergraduate students who meet the above average performance criteria.^[12]

Due to Alabama State offering only bachelor's degree inBiomedical Engineering andMechanical Engineering, the university established adual degreeengineering partnership withAuburn University and theUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) that gives qualified ASU students automatic admissions into Auburn and UAB undergraduate engineering programs. ASU undergraduate students who successfully complete the program will receive aSTEM related bachelor's degree from ASU and an engineering bachelor's degree from Auburn or UAB in approximately five years.^[13][14]

Alabama State isaccredited by theCommission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Specific programs are also accredited by relevant specialized accreditors.^[15]

Research centers at the university include:^[16][17]

• Center for Nanobiotechnology Research
• Research Infrastructure & Minority Institutions
• Center for Leadership & Public Policy
• East Asian Institute for Business Research and Culture
• Urban Economic Research Development Center
• National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture

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.^[18]

Alabama State University has nearly 6,000 students from more than 40 states and over 20 countries. Approximately 40% of the student body come from outside Alabama.^[20]

The Alabama State University Department of Athletics currently sponsors men's intercollegiatefootball,baseball,basketball, golf, tennis, track and cheerleading, along with women's intercollegiatebasketball, soccer, softball, bowling, tennis, track, volleyball, golf and cheerleading. Sports teams participate inNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Division I (FCS –Football Championship Subdivision forfootball) in theSouthwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), which it joined in 1982. The university's colors are black and old gold and their athletic teams are known as the Hornets.^[21]

Alabama State's marching band is officially known as "The Mighty Marching Hornets". The band has been nationally recognized. The Mighty Marching Hornets were featured in the documentary series,Bama State Style, which followed the lives of the students in the band. In 2016, The Mighty Marching Hornets made an appearance inAng Lee's filmBilly Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.^[22] In 2017, the band's 2012 halftime performance at the Magic City Classic garnered over three million views onYouTube. The band performed in the 2019Rose Parade inPasadena, California on New Year's Day. In 2023, Alabama State became the first HBCU to host the annualHonda Battle of the Bands. The band is traditionally led by four or fivedrum majors. The band performs at most football games, all SWAC basketball home games, and other special events.

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 a live televised performance with artists Robin Thicke, Kendrick Lamar, and 2 Chainz.^[23][24] Also, they were shown in Beyonce's Netflix special "HΘMΣCΘMING: A film by Beyonce".^[25]

The most recently added auxiliary is "The Honey-Beez", a danceline composed of onlyplus-size young women that debuted in 2004.^[26] In 2017, they were selected to showcase their talents and compete onAmerica's Got Talent.^[27] In 2020, they starred in a docuseries onSnapchat.^[28]

TheBama State Collegians is abig bandjazz orchestra sponsored by Alabama State University. In the 1930s, the ensemble was directed by noted jazz trumpeterErskine Hawkins, an inductee of both theAlabama Jazz Hall of Fame and theAlabama 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 theGlenn 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 aFlorida State University Film School MFA thesis film,The Collegians, written and directed by Alabama State University alumnus Bryan Lewis.^[29][30][31]

Students are served by two media publications,The Hornet Tribune (student newspaper) andThe Hornet (the student yearbook).^[32][33]

• WVAS 90.7 FM Radio, Alabama State radio station
• Magic City Classic, One of the largest HBCU events andFCS football games in the nation
• Turkey Day Classic, One of the oldest HBCU football classics in the nation

• 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.
• Karl E. Westhauser; Elaine M. Smith; Jennifer A. Fremlin, eds. (2005).Creating Community: Life and Learning at Montgomery's Black University. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

• Media related toAlabama State University at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website

32°21′50″N86°17′42″W / 32.364°N 86.295°W /32.364; -86.295

• Alabama State University
• Universities and colleges in Montgomery, Alabama
• Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• African-American history in Montgomery, Alabama
• 1867 establishments in Alabama
• Historically black universities and colleges in the United States
• Historically segregated African-American schools in Alabama
• Public universities and colleges in Alabama
• Universities and colleges established in 1867

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