 | |
Former names | Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (1882–1902) Virginia State College for Negroes (1902–1946) Virginia State College (1946–1979) |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Greater Happens Here" |
| Type | Publichistorically blackland-grant university |
| Established | March 6, 1882; 143 years ago (1882-03-06) |
| Accreditation | SACS |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $100 million (2025)[1] |
| President | Makola M. Abdullah |
Academic staff | 300 |
| Students | 5,701 (Fall 2024)[2] |
| Location | , United States |
| Campus | Large suburb, 236 acres (0.96 km2) |
| Newspaper | The Statesman |
| Colors | Orange and blue |
| Nickname | Trojans |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II –CIAA |
| Website | vsu.edu |
 | |
Virginia State University (VSU orVirginia State) is apublichistorically Blackland-grant university inEttrick, Virginia, United States. Founded on March 6, 1882 (1882-03-06), Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for Black Americans. The university is a member school of theThurgood Marshall College Fund.
Virginia State University was founded on March 6, 1882, when the legislature passed a bill to charter theVirginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. The bill was sponsored by DelegateAlfred W. Harris, a Black attorney whose offices were in Petersburg, but who lived in and represented Dinwiddie County in the General Assembly. A hostile lawsuit delayed opening day for nineteen months, until October 1, 1883. In 1902, the legislature revised the charter act to curtail the collegiate program and to change the name toVirginia Normal and Industrial Institute.
In 1920, the land-grant program for Black students was moved from a private school,Hampton Institute, where it had been since 1872, to Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. In 1923 the college program was restored, and the name was changed toVirginia State College for Negroes in 1930. The two-year branch in Norfolk was added to the college in 1944; the Norfolk division became a four-year branch in 1956 and gained independence asNorfolk State College in 1969. Meanwhile, the parent school was renamed Virginia State College in 1946. The legislature passed a law in 1979 that changed the name to Virginia State University.
In the first academic year, 1883–1884, the university had 126 students and seven faculty (all of them Black), one building, 33 acres (13 ha), a 200-book library, and a $20,000 budget. By the centennial year of 1982, the university was fully integrated, with a student body of nearly 5,000, a full-time faculty of about 250, a library containing 200,000 books and 360,000 microform and non-print items, a 236-acre (96 ha) campus and 416-acre (168 ha) farm, more than 50 buildings, including 15 dormitories and 16 classroom buildings, and a biennial budget of $31,000,000, exclusive of capital outlay.
The university is situated inChesterfield County atEttrick, on a bluff across theAppomattox River from the city of Petersburg. It is accessible via Interstate Highways 95 and 85, which meet in Petersburg.
The first person to bear the title of President,John Mercer Langston, was one of the best-known Black men of his day. Until 1992, he was the only Black man ever elected to the United States Congress from Virginia (elected in 1888), and he was the great-uncle of the famed writerLangston Hughes. From 1888 to 1968, four presidents – James H. Johnston, John M. Gandy, Luther H. Foster, Robert P. Daniel served an average of 20 years, helping the school to overcome adversity and move forward. The next twenty years, 1968–1992, saw six more presidents—James F. Tucker, Wendell P. Russell, Walker H. Quarles, Jr., Thomas M. Law, Wilbert Greenfield, and Wesley Cornelious McClure. On June 1, 1993, Eddie N. Moore, Jr., the former Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Virginia, became the twelfth President of Virginia State University. Dr. Keith T. Miller became Virginia State University's 13th president from 2010 to 2014. In 2015, Dr. Pamela V. Hammond became the first woman to lead Virginia State University in 133 years. She was appointed as interim president on January 1, 2015. On February 1, 2016, PresidentMakola Abdullah, Ph.D., was named as the 14th president of Virginia State University. Dr. Abdullah previously served as provost and senior vice president at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla. President Abdullah is a Chicago native who is the youngest African American to receive a Ph.D. in engineering. He earned his undergraduate degree from Howard University in civil engineering and a Master of Science in civil engineering from Northwestern University.
In 2020,MacKenzie Scott donated $30 million to Virginia State. Her donation is the largest single gift in Virginia State's history.[3]
On October 5, 2025, a man was shot and killed on campus during homecoming weekend.[4] A 19 year-old man was arrested and charged for the shooting death.[5]
The university has a 236-acre (0.96 km2) main campus and a 412-acre (1.67 km2) agricultural research facility known as the Randolph Farm. The main campus includes more than 50 buildings, including 11 dormitories and 18 academic buildings. The main campus is located close to theAppomattox River inEttrick, Virginia.[6]
Academics at the university are organized into seven colleges:[8]
| Race and ethnicity | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 93% | ||
| Unknown | 3% | ||
| White | 3% | ||
| International student | 1% | ||
| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income[a] | 70% | ||
| Affluent[b] | 30% | ||
The 2017–2018 student body was 57.4% female and 43% male. It consists of 69.7% in-state and 30.3% out-of-state students.[10] 97.2% of students live on campus and 2.8% off-campus.[10] 91.1% of students self-identify as Black/African American, while 4.0% are White, and 4.0% are racially unreported.
Virginia State has 14 Division II athletic teams on campus and is a member of theCentral Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) conference.
There are over 70 student organizations on campus, including the Student Government Association andNational Pan-Hellenic Council.[11]
The Virginia State University Trojan Explosion is composed of instrumentalists, Essence of Troy Dancers, Satin Divas Flag, and Troy Elegance Twirlers.
The "Marching 110" was built during the leadership of F. Nathaniel Pops Gatlin and Claiborne T. Richardson. In 1984 the marching band was renamed the "Trojan Explosion" under the direction of Harold J. Haughton, Sr. and the music department began to grow. In 2013, Professor James Holden, Jr. became director of bands. In addition to serving as director of the VSU Gospel Chorale, Holden has served as assistant director of bands since 1984. The Trojan Explosion has been selected to attend the Honda Battle of the Bands 9 consecutive years. In addition to numerous accolades and achievements, the drum line performed at the White House for President Barack Obama during the signing of the HBCU Funding Bill.
Originally led by head coach Paulette Johnson, for 35 years, the Woo Woos 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, led the team for one year following the retirement of Johnson. The squad has been under the leadership of former Woo Woo Cassandra Artis-Williams since 2013.
The Department of Music had a recording Concert Choir. In 1974, This choir recorded an album entitledThe Undine Smith Moore Song Book a recording in the series ofAfro-American heritage in songs.[12] This recording was third in the series, which aspired to produce a recording each year of the works of this Black composer who was a former faculty member and co-director of the Black Man in American Music Center.[12] The choir also performed selections from this series in Baltimore at Bethel AME Church," including songs from a group of gospel selections arranged by VSC students Larry Bland, Janet Coleman, and Roger Holliman."[12] Several graduates of VSC were living in Baltimore, and came to join the choir at the end of the program as they sang theEvening Song.
This list includes graduates, non-graduate former students and current students of Virginia State University.
| Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaye Adegbalola | 1978 | Blues singer and civil rights activist | |
| James Avery | Actor | ||
| Deshauna Barber | 2011 | Miss USA 2016, Top 9 inMiss Universe 2016 | [13] |
| Clara Byrd Baker | Educator, civic leader, and suffragist | [14] | |
| Aline Elizabeth Black | Educator and the focus of a civil rights suit | ||
| Joe Bonner | Jazz pianist | [15] | |
| Matilda Booker | 1911 | American educator and administrator | [16] |
| Herman Branson | 1936 | African American physicist, best known for his research on the alpha helix protein structure | [17] |
| Rovenia M. Brock | Nutritionist, lecturer, health reporter, entrepreneur, and author | [18] | |
| Al Bumbry | Major League Baseball | [19] | |
| 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 | ||
| Trenton Cannon | 2017 | NFL running back for theNew York Jets | |
| Rufus Crawford | Former NFL and CFL player | ||
| James H. Coleman, Jr. | 1956 | first African American justice of theNew Jersey Supreme Court, retired | [20] |
| Dorothy Cotton | Top Aide to Martin Luther King Jr., later serving as aide for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference aide Dorothy Cotton | ||
| Daryl Cumber Dance | 1957, 1963 | American Folklorist, Author, and Professor | [21] |
| Rosalyn Dance | 1986 | Politician, Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 63rd district | [22] |
| Das EFX | attended | Rap group | |
| Silas DeMary | 1993 | Arena Football League player | [23] |
| Wale Folarin | DC Rapper (transferred toBowie State University) | ||
| Roger L. Gregory | 1975 | Judge,United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit | [24] |
| Aaron Hall | attended | Member of the Music GroupGuy | |
| Damion Hall | attended | Member of the Music GroupGuy | |
| Otelia Shields Howard | attended | English instructor at VSC from 1921 to 1945 | [25] |
| ABilly S. Jones-Hennin | 1967 | LGBT rights activist and organizer | |
| Delores G. Kelley | 1956 | Member of Maryland State Senate, representing Maryland's District 10 inBaltimore County, Maryland | |
| Kelvin Kinney | Former NFL player | ||
| Reginald F. Lewis | 1965 | Businessman; owner of TLC Beatrice International | |
| William H. Lewis | c. 1890 | Former United States Assistant Attorney General | |
| 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 | [26] |
| Lucy McBath | 1982 | U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia | [27] |
| Amaza Lee Meredith | c. 1926 | One of the nation's first Black female architects (International Style). | [28] |
| Thomas Miller | Prolific graphic designer and visual artist, whose best known publicly accessible work is the collection of mosaics of the founders ofDuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois. | [29] | |
| Héctor Martínez Muñoz | First member of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico | ||
| Jim Mitchell | Former NFL player | ||
| Bashorun Olalekan | 1984 | Nigerian academic | |
| Dr. Regenia A. Perry | 1961 | One of the first African American women to earn a Ph.D. in art history | [30] |
| Ora Brown Stokes Perry | 1900 | clubwoman, community organizer in Richmond | [31] |
| Al Stewart | 1990 | ActingSecretary of labor underJoe Biden, Deputy Director of Labor | |
| James H. Stith | 1963 | African-American physicist and current professor of Physics at Ohio State University | [32] |
| Roslyn Tyler | Politician, Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 75th district | ||
| Billy Taylor | 1942 | Jazz musician | |
| Dennis L. Via | 1980 | Four star general, U.S. Army, Retired, 18th Commanding General United States Army Materiel Command (AMC) | |
| Gladys West | 1952 (BS), 1955 (MS) | A mathematician whose work is credited to the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame | |
| Ken Whitlock | 1947 | CFL player, first Black player for theToronto Argonauts | [33] |
| Camilla Williams | 1941 | First African-American to receive a contract from a major American opera company | |
| Benjie E. Wimberly | Member of theNew Jersey General Assembly | [34] | |
| Avis Wyatt | 2007? | Professional basketball player |
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