Southern University and A&M College (often referred to as Southern University, SUBR or SU) is a historically black university (HBCU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The campus is on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section of the city. The campus encompasses 512 acres, with an agricultural experimental station on an additional 372-acre site, five miles north of the main campus. The university is the largest HBCU in Louisiana, a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the flagship institution of the Southern University System.
History
At the 1879 Louisiana State Constitutional Convention, African-American political leaders P.B.S. Pinchback, Theophile T. Allain and Henry Demas proposed founding a higher education institution "for the education of persons of color." Louisiana before the American Civil War had an established class of free people of color, who were often property owners and educated; they kept that tradition for their children.
In April 1880, the Louisiana General Assembly chartered what was then called Southern College, originally located in New Orleans. Southern opened its doors on March 7, 1881 (1881-03-07) with 12 students. The school was held for a time at the former Israel Sinai Temple on Calliope Street, between St. Charles and Camp streets.
In 1890 the legislature designated Southern as a land grant college for blacks, in order to continue to satisfy federal requirements under the land grant program to support higher education for all students in the state, despite having a segregated system. It established an Agricultural and Mechanical department. Because of continued growth and a lack of land for expansion, in 1914 the university moved to Scotlandville, along Scott's Bluff facing the Mississippi River and north of Baton Rouge. Now absorbed into the capital, this area is included as a historic destination of the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.
The first president of what is now known as Southern University at Baton Rouge was Dr. Joseph Samuel Clark. Clark, an African-American leader from Baton Rouge, presided over Baton Rouge College and the Louisiana Colored Teachers Association.
In 1921, the Louisiana Constitutional Convention authorized the reorganization and expansion of Southern University; Legislative Act 100 of 1922 provided that the institution be reorganized under the control of the State Board of Education. Clark presided over Southern University during its resulting expansion. Student enrollment grew from 47 to 500, and many of the school's early buildings were built during this time. Clark presided until his retirement in 1938.
His son Dr. Felton Grandison Clark was appointed as president that year. He generated considerable expansion, with 33 of 114 current buildings erected during his 30 years of tenure. The student enrollment grew from 500 to nearly 10,000 students. In addition, the State School for the Negro Deaf and Blind was established here in 1938, under supervision of Southern. In 1943, the university was visited by the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.
The Southern University Laboratory School System began operating in September 1922. The Laboratory School was first accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1936 and has conferred more than 5,000 high school diplomas since its inception.
Under the segregated state education, LSU Law School had refused to admit African Americans, who filed a lawsuit to gain professional education. A special Louisiana Convention established a law program, now Southern University Law Center, in 1947 at Southern University. During Clark's tenure, Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) (1956) and Southern University at Shreveport (SUSLA) (1964) were founded. They were incorporated into the Southern University System in 1974.
In 1969, the university saw a changing of the guard, when Clark retired and Dr. G. Leon Netterville was selected as president. On November 16, 1972, Denver Smith and Leonard Brown, two students involved with "Students United," a student activist group, were shot and killed outside the Old Auditorium (now the Southern University Museum of Art). The murders have never been solved.
The institution continued to grow. In 1974 a special session in the Louisiana Legislature established the Southern University System, with Jesse N. Stone of Shreveport as its president. The system consists of Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, (SUBR); Southern University, New Orleans (SUNO); Southern University Law Center; Southern University Agricultural Center; and Southern University, Shreveport. SUSLA is a two-year, commuter college. The Southern University Museum of Art at Shreveport has also been designated as a destination of the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.
In 1978 the legislature merged the Southern School for the Deaf with the Louisiana School for the Deaf, moving the students temporarily into the Mayflower North Campus, during construction of the new South Campus. In 1985, they entered the new buildings in the South.
Between 2004 and 2013, Southern University ranked 4th in the nation for baccalaureate-origin institution of black male doctorate recipients.
Academics
Southern University has six degree-granting colleges and a law school on campus:
- College of Education, Arts, and Humanities
- College of Business
- College of Sciences and Engineering
- College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
- College of Sciences and Agriculture
- College of Nursing and Allied Health
- Southern University Law Center
The Southern University Law Center is one of only two public law schools in the state. The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association and was established in 1947. The law school has approximately 700 full-time and part-time students.
Southern University is the only HBCU and one of six public universities in the state with an engineering program.
Southern University has nationally recognized Army and Navy ROTC programs.
The Dolores Spikes Honors College is a non degree-granting college specifically established to provide an enhanced educational experience for SU undergraduates with strong academic achievements and motivation. The college is named after Southern University graduate and only female president of the institution, Dr. Dolores Richard Spikes.
In 2015, the College of Nursing and Allied Health won the Louisiana's nursing school of the year award for the third time. The award is given by the Louisiana Nursing Foundation.
In 2017, Southern University's Rehabilitation Counseling master's degree program ranked 58th in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report.
Southern University and A&M College is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Campus
Lake Kernan flows through the center of the campus and the Mississippi River forms its western boundary. Since 1960, buildings containing more than 2,000,000 square feet of floor area have been constructed. The notable buildings include:
- John B. Cade Library
- School of Nursing Building
- Health Research Wing of Lee Hall
- Rodney G. Higgins Hall for Social Science
- Augustus C. Blanks Hall for Special Education and Psychology
- Baranco-Hill Student Health Center
- A.A. Lenoir Hall
- College of Engineering Building, P.B.S. Pinchback
- Dolores Spikes Honors College
- T.T Allain College of Business
- Smith-Brown Memorial Union
- J. S. Clark Administration Building
- E. N. Mayberry Dining Hall
- Music Recital Hall
- Isaac Greggs Band Hall
- SU Museum of Art
- F. G. Clark Activity Center
- Ace W. Mumford Stadium
- Horace W. Moody Intramural Sports Complex
Southern University has eight on-campus residence halls (4 males only, 2 females only, and 2 co-ed).
The John B. Cade Library is a 154,000 square foot edifice named after the John Brother Cade, the first principal of Southern University Laboratory School. The library contains over a million volumes, nearly 2,000 journal subscriptions, 600,000 microforms and 1,800 recordings. The library houses the Camille Shade African-American Heritage Collection on the 3rd floor.
The Smith-Brown Memorial Union, a 66,200-square feet multipurpose building which serves as a major center for extracurricular activities. The recently renovated Union features a 6 food court with popular food outlets; barber and beauty shops; television rooms; 12 bowling lanes; a game room for billiards, video games, and quiet games; an art gallery; a browsing room; a ballroom, meeting and conference rooms; and a U.S. post office. The building also houses offices for student organizations.
The F.G. Clark Activity Center has accommodations for theater, athletic events, conferences, convocations and recreational activities. The building houses the Athletic Department.
The J.S. Clark Administration Building contains the offices of the Southern University Board of Supervisors, the Southern University System officers, the President-Chancellor of the Baton Rouge campus, and other campus administrative officers.
E.N. Mayberry Dining Hall contains the Magnolia Room, the Cypress Room and the Oak Room, which is for student dining. Dunn Cafeteria is in the Freshman Complex.
Student demographics
As of fall 2015, 65% of students were female and 35% male. 85% of students were from Louisiana; East Baton Rouge Parish, Orleans Parish, and St. Landry Parish were the top three feeder parishes. The top three feeder states for out-of-state students were Texas (244 students), California (71 students), and Georgia (65 students). There were 199 students from a foreign country. Approximately 90% of SU students identified as black and 10% identified as non-black.
Athletics
The Southern Jaguars and Lady Jaguars represent the university in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Southern's sports teams participate in Division I (FCS for football) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Southern University and its northern Louisiana SWAC rival, Grambling State University, annually participate in the Bayou Classic on the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day in New Orleans. NBC has carried the game live for more than 20 years.
Southern's other most notable SWAC rivals are Jackson State and Texas Southern.
Student activities
Southern University Marching Band
The Southern University marching band, better known as the Human Jukebox, has been featured in numerous television commercials, music videos and invited to participate in the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, Presidential Inauguration ceremonies and six Super Bowl halftime presentations. The band was also featured in the music video for the Jonas Brothers song, "Pom Poms". In 2008, The band was named "Best Dressed Marching Band" by FashionNews.com, and named "#1 Band In The Nation" by USA Today. In 2014, the NCAA ranked the band second best in the nation. The band is well known for their powerful and dominating sound in the stands, precise, show stopping, high stepping, and entertaining drills on the field, and as being the only HBCU marching band to feature one drum major during performances.
SU media
The university's weekly student produced newspaper is known as The Southern Digest. The award-winning newspaper was established in 1926 and operates under the Southern University Office of Media Services. "The Bluff" is an internet radio station managed by students that offers a mixture of news, interviews, and music.
Student organizations
There are nearly 150 student organizations active on campus. The organizations belong in one of the following categories: Academic, Honors Societies, Multicultural, Non-NPHC Greeks, NPHC Greeks, Political, Professional, Religious, Service, Social, Special Interest, Sports, and School Spirit.
Lacumba
Southern University is the first HBCU to house a live mascot on campus. Henry J. Bellaire, alumnus and president of the 1961 senior class and alumna Helen Williams presented a jaguar as a gift to the university. The jaguar was named Lacumba (meaning "Heart of Africa") and was born on May 26, 1971. In 1991, Lacumba retired to the Acadania Zoo in Broussard, LA and was replaced with Lacumba II. Lacumba II (commonly referred to as simply Lacumba) was born on May 12, 1991 and was the offspring of two rare black jaguars in hopes of having a black jaguar. However, Lacumba II was birthed brown and grew up to be a 200-pound cat. Lacumba II died of natural causes in December 2004 and was the last jaguar to live on campus. The jaguars' caged pen remains in front of the A.W. Mumford football stadium off Harding Boulevard. The legacy of Lacumba is now carried on by the school's costumed jaguar mascot.
Notable people
Alumni
Faculty
- John Michael Guidry, circuit court judge and Southern faculty member
See also
References
External links
- Official website