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A Brief History of the University
Alabama
State
University
is one of the oldest institutions of higher education founded for
African Americans after the Civil War. On July 18,
1867 nine black men who had been slaves filed incorporation papers
with the Judge of Probate in Perry County, Alabama and established
the Lincoln Normal School of Marion, the institution which became Alabama State
University a century
later. The American Missionary Association (AMA) leased the Lincoln School
building in 1868 and operated and financed a teacher-training school
with support from the Freedman’s Bureau and the “colored people of Alabama.” As a normal school, Lincoln awarded teaching
certificates, not college degrees.
While the AMA still provided teachers for Lincoln,
the state of Alabama
began its support of the institution in 1870 with a small appropriation
from the Alabama Legislature. In 1873, through the untiring
efforts of Peyton Finley, the first black member of the Alabama State
Board of Education, the Alabama Legislature approved an Act “to
establish a State Normal School
and University for the Education of the Colored Teachers and Students.”
The Act carried a provision that the Lincoln
facility be handed over to the state. In 1874, Lincoln was reorganized as the nation’s first
state-supported institution of higher education for training African
Americans to be teachers.
(Two other state institutions for African Americans had been
established, Lincoln University of Missouri in 1866 and Alcorn College
of Mississippi in 1871, but they were land-grant agricultural and
mechanical colleges.)
The institution continued at Marion
until 1887 when it was renamed the Alabama Colored People’s University
and moved to Montgomery.
Two year’s later, another Legislative Act changed the name to the Normal
School for Colored Students, and in 1928 the school became a four-year
teacher’s college. The first baccalaureate degrees were conferred
in 1931. The graduate program in education was authorized in 1940,
and the first master’s degrees were awarded in 1943. The
institution underwent other name changes during these years:
State
Teachers College in 1929,
Alabama State College for Negroes in 1948, and Alabama State College in
1954.
As Alabama State College, the institution was at the forefront of
involvement in the nation’s Civil Rights Movement. Alabama State
faculty and students were actively engaged in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
in 1954 and 1955, and in 1960 students staged the first sit-in in the Deep South, marched on the state capitol, and went to jail
protesting segregation. In a state adamantly committed to
segregation, the institution was negatively affected by this civil
rights participation. It found itself less well funded, a
condition which resulted in the loss of accreditation in 1961. In
1935 Alabama State
Teachers College had been
granted Class B recognition by the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools (SACS), which accredited black and white colleges separately
during those years. SACS raised the college’s level to Class A in
1943. Accreditation by SACS was not to be reclaimed until 1966.
On June 26, 1969, the institution was granted “university status,” and
the scope of its academic program was broadened to include more
areas in the liberal arts, the sciences, and business as well as in
teacher education.
Alabama
State
University
operated under the governance of the Alabama State Board of Education
until October 1975 when the legislature authorized a separate board of
trustees.
Growth is a part of the story of any dynamic institution, and ASU is no
exception. In 1887 the school relocated to Montgomery with a faculty
of nine. Today, the faculty totals over 300. On opening day in
1887, about 400 students showed up to register for classes. In the
fall of 2002, the student enrollment was 6038. The first
graduating class in 1890 consisted of 8 persons. During 2007, more
than 700 undergraduate and graduate students were awarded degrees.
The physical plant has expanded from two buildings on the original
campus site to a campus of permanent brick structures covering
approximately 156.4 acres valued at more than 150 million dollars.
Located only a short walk from the Alabama
State Capitol, the state government complex, and downtown Montgomery, the ASU campus
continues to grow. This growth includes a new facility for the College of Education which is currently under
construction. In addition, a new
Forensic
Science
Building
is scheduled to open in September.
It will house both the Alabama State Department of Forensic
Sciences and a new ASU degree program in forensic sciences. A new
molecular biology building which will support a new doctoral program in
molecular biology is also under construction.
Significant expansion of the
Levi Watkins Learning
Center is also scheduled
for 2008. Much of the
current growth in academic programs and in the physical plant is due in
part to the Knight vs. Alabama desegregation lawsuit. The 1995
remedial decree in this case has enabled ASU to implement degree
programs in health information management, occupational therapy,
physical therapy, accountancy, educational leadership, and environmental
biology. ASU has developed its first doctoral degree programs in
the latter two fields of study. The Ed. D. in Educational
Leadership, Policy, and Law received SACS accreditation in spring 2003.
The decree also provided funds to build a multimillion dollar health
sciences facility and to refurbish several existing structures. In
addition, it helped to strengthen the university’s commitment to
diversifying the student population through the provision of “diversity
scholarships” designed to attract a larger number of non-black students.
The decree created ASU’s first major endowment as well, the Trust for
Educational Excellence. The campus is also undergoing renovations
of its dining facility and residence halls to improve the quality of
life of its students.
Though founded as a teacher’s college, ASU
has broadened its mission over the years to include preparing students
for a variety of other professions. The opportunities created by
Knight vs. Alabama have contributed substantially to the continuing
academic program expansion and to the changing face of ASU as the
university moves forward into the 21st century.
The
Colleges and Schools
Academic offerings at ASU consist of programs leading to bachelor’s,
master’s, education specialist, and doctoral degrees. Courses in these
degree programs are offered during the evening and on Saturdays as well
as during the regular daytime hours to accommodate students who find an
evening and weekend schedule more convenient for their educational
needs. The academic program is administered through
seven colleges and one school, each headed by a dean.
The units are the College of
Arts and Sciences, the College
of Business Administration,
the College of
Education, the College
of Health Sciences, the College of Visual
and Performing Arts, University College,
and the School
of Graduate Studies.
Although authorization for general purpose curricula leading to the
bachelor’s degree in arts and sciences dates back to 1946, the
College of Arts and Sciences was created in 1969 when ASU received
university status. The college offers programs leading to the
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Social
Work. It administers programs for the
School
of Graduate Studies
leading to the Master of Arts and Master of Science. The College of
Business Administration was also
organized in 1969. Its programs lead to the Bachelor of Science in
accounting, computer information systems, finance, management and
marketing, internal auditing, franchising and systems analysis, and to
the Master of Accountancy. The
College of Education
is the oldest college in the university. It offers programs
leading to the Bachelor of Science in Education and administers programs
for the School of Graduate Studies leading to the Master of
Education, the Education Specialist, and the Ed. D. in educational
leadership, policy, and law.
Formally established in 2000, the College of
Health Sciences is the newest college in
the university. It houses three degree programs--the Bachelor of Science
in health information management, the Bachelor of Science in
occupational therapy, and the Master of Science in physical therapy.
College of Visual and Performing Arts was created in 2006.
The college offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts. It
administers programs for the School of Graduate Studies leading to the Master of
Arts and Master of Science. Formerly, the School of Music,
the Department of Music began in 1943 . It offers
programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts in music, the Bachelor of Music
Education, and the Master of Music Education.
The School
of Graduate Studies
dates back to 1940 but was reorganized in 1963 to include an
identifiable graduate faculty and administrative responsibilities
resident in the Graduate Council. Graduate programs are offered
through cooperation with the degree-granting colleges and are
coordinated by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. Graduate courses
are also offered at five sites outside of Montgomery. University College
is the only college that does not award degrees.
Established in 1975 as the college of entry for freshmen and transfer
students, it offers the general education curriculum which is the core
of all major programs of study. The academic program in University
college is designed to ensure students’ optimal performance and
achievement in the degree-granting colleges and schools.
Other academic units within the university include the Division of
Aerospace Studies and the Division of Continuing Education.
Accreditations
The university is accredited by the Commission on
Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
Individual programs are accredited by their relevant professional
organizations and associations. The Association of Collegiate Business
Schools and Programs (ACBSP), the National Council for Accreditation of
Teacher Education (NCATE), the National Association of Schools of Music
(NASM), the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education
and Certification (NASDTEC), the Council on Social Work Education, the
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy (ACOTE), the
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
(CAAHEP), the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
of the American Physical Therapy Association. ASU is approved by the
Alabama State Department of Education, and its programs and credits are
accepted for teacher certification. ASU also holds membership in a
number of professional organizations. (See the University Factbook,
pages 3-4 for additional accreditations and affiliations.)
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