Albany State University

Albany State University
	File:ASU college seal.jpg
Motto	A Past to Cherish, A Future to Fulfill
Type	Historically Black Public
Established	1903
President	Dr. Everette J. Freeman
Students	3,927
Location	Albany, Georgia, United States
Campus	Urban
Colors	Royal Blue and Yellow Gold
Mascot	Golden Ram
Website	http://www.asurams.edu

Founded in 1903, Albany State University is a historically black , four year institution located in Albany, GA, a progressive city with a metropolitan statistical area population of 162,800. The University is one of three historically black colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia. Albany State offers undergraduate and graduate liberal arts and professional degree programs. The school sits on a 204 acre campus with impressive historic and modern buildings. [1]

Historical Background

Joseph Winthrop Holley founded the institution in 1903 as the Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute. Holley was born in 1874 to former slaves in Winnsboro, South Carolina. Two Educators, Reverend Samuel Loomis and his wife, sent Holley to Brainerd Institute and then Revere Lay College in Massachusetts. While attending Revere Lay, Holley got to know one of the school's trustees, New England businessman, Rowland Hazard. After taking a liking to Holley, Hazard arranged for him to continue his education at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Holley aspired to become a minister and prepared by completing his education at Pennsylvania's Lincoln University.

W.E.B DuBois inspired Holley to return to the South after he read Dubois's writings on the plight of Black people in Albany, GA in The Souls of Black Folk. Holley relocated to Albany, GA to start a school. With the help of a $2,600 gift from the Hazard family, Holley organized a board of trustees and purchased 50 acres of land for the campus, all within a year. The aim of the institution at the time, was to provide elementary education and teacher training for the local Black population. The institution became financially state supported in 1917 as a two year agricultural and teacher training college. It's new name became The Georgia Normal and Agricultural College. [2]

In 1932, The school became part of the University System of Georgia and in 1943 it was granted four-year status and renamed Albany State College. The transition to four-year status heavily increased the school's enrollment.

Holley served as President of the school from 1903-1943. He was succeeded by Aaron Brown (1943-1954), William Dennis (1954-1965), Thomas Miller Jenkins (1965-1969), Charles Hayes (1969-1980), Billy C. Black (1980-1996), Portia Holmes Shields (1996-2005), and Everette J. Freeman (2005- ).[3]

The Albany Movement

The college played a significant role in the American Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s. Many students from the school, black improvement organizations, and representatives from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) came to together to create the Albany Movement. The movement brought prominent civil rights leaders to the town including Martin Luther King Jr.

Present Day

Today the Albany State University student body consists of both traditional and non-traditional students who make up the more than 3,500 student population. These students come primarily from Atlanta, southwest andmiddle Georgia, other U.S. states and many foreign countries.

Colleges and Schools

Albany State offers more than 30 undergraduate degree programs and six advanced degrees. Colleges include: The College of Business, The College of Arts and Sciences, The College of Education, and The College of Health Professions.[4] The Graduate school degree programs include: Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Criminal Justice, Master of Science in Nursing, Master of Education, Master of Public Administration, and Education Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership.[5]

References and External Links

v t e Historically black colleges and universities (List)
Public institutions	Alabama A&M Alabama State Albany State Alcorn State Arkansas–Pine Bluff Bishop State CC Bluefield State Bowie State Central State Cheyney Coahoma CC Coppin State Delaware State Elizabeth City State Fayetteville State Florida A&M Fort Valley State Gadsden State CC Grambling State Harris–Stowe Hinds CC Jackson State Kentucky State Langston Lincoln, Missouri Lincoln, Pennsylvania Maryland, Eastern Shore Mississippi Valley State Morgan State Norfolk State North Carolina A&T North Carolina Central Prairie View A&M Savannah State Shelton State CC South Carolina State Southern Southern–New Orleans Southern–Shreveport Tennessee State Texas Southern UDC/UDC-CC UVI Virginia State West Virginia State Winston-Salem State
Private institutions	Allen Arkansas Baptist Barber–Scotia Benedict Bennett Bethune–Cookman Claflin Clark Atlanta Dillard Edward Waters Fisk Florida Memorial University Hampton Howard Huston–Tillotson Interdenominational Theological Center Jarvis Christian Johnson C. Smith Knoxville Lane LeMoyne–Owen Livingstone Meharry Miles Morehouse Morehouse School of Medicine Morris Brown Morris Oakwood Paine Paul Quinn Pensole Lewis Philander Smith Rust Selma Shaw Simmons College (Ky.) Southwestern Christian Spelman Stillman St. Augustine's Talladega Texas College Tougaloo Tuskegee Virginia Union Virginia University Voorhees Wilberforce Wiley Xavier (Louisiana)
Defunct institutions	Bishop Booker T. Washington Carver Central Mississippi College Collier-Blocker Concordia Alabama Daniel Payne Frelinghuysen Georgia Baptist Gibbs Guadalupe Hampton Haygood Seminary Immanuel Lutheran Jackson Johnson Kittrell Lincoln Junior College Luther Miner Teachers College Mississippi Industrial College Morristown Mount Hermon Female Seminary New Orleans University Roosevelt Rosenwald Saint Paul's SCSU Law School Storer Straight Suwannee River Terrell Law School Volusia County Western
Law Schools	David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC) Florida A&M University College of Law Howard University School of Law North Carolina Central University School of Law Southern University Law Center Thurgood Marshall School of Law (Texas Southern)
Consortia	Atlanta University Center Florida's Black Junior Colleges Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Southwestern Athletic Conference Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference HBCU Athletic Conference

v t e University System of Georgia
Research universities	Augusta University Georgia State University Georgia Tech University of Georgia
Comprehensive universities	Georgia Southern University Kennesaw State University University of West Georgia Valdosta State University
State universities	Albany State University Clayton State University Columbus State University Fort Valley State University Georgia College & State University Georgia Southwestern State University Middle Georgia State University University of North Georgia Savannah State University
State colleges	Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Atlanta Metropolitan State College College of Coastal Georgia Dalton State College East Georgia State College Georgia Gwinnett College Georgia Highlands College Gordon State College South Georgia State College
Related	Board of Regents Georgia Academy Lapides case Library Learning Online Nexus degree Public Library Service Student Advisory Council