As mighty as the river that flows on to the sea, the story of Southern University is about dreams, diligence, and determination. It is said that education liberates our minds, widens our horizons, and opens doors of opportunity. In Louisiana, the movement for an equal opportunity institution of higher learning for black citizens was sponsored by delegates PBS Pinchback, T.T. Allain, T.B. Stamps, and Henry Demas during the 1879 Louisiana State Constitutional Convention.
Collectively, they believed that in our fight for true equality, education was the primary tool of emancipation. Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback, a Republican and first black governor of Louisiana, along with Francis T. Nichols, a white Democrat who aspired to be governor, worked together to push for college-level education for persons of color. The state legislature passed Act 87 in 1880 as a proper act of incorporation and governance of the institution. Section 7 of this act provided that a board of trustees establish a faculty of arts and letters which shall be competent to instruct in every branch of liberal education.
And so was born Southern University. The first Southern University was located between St. Charles and Cleo Streets on Calliope Street in what was formerly the Hebrew Girls School of Israel Temple Synagogue in New Orleans. The university opened at this location with 12 students, but quickly outgrew the facility. In 1886, a state appropriation of $14,000 allowed the university to purchase the square at Saunier and Magazine Streets in New Orleans.
And in 1887, Southern University moved into a three-story brick building at this location. June 1890, the Southern University Board of Trustees established... the Agricultural and Mechanical Department, making the university eligible to receive appropriations from the Morrill Acts. However, it was not until 1891 that the university was recognized by the federal government as a land-grant college under the Federal Act of 1890, now known as the Second Morrill Act. Southern University was the only Negro institution of higher education in the state to receive any financial support.
To many black citizens who lived in the rural areas of the state, this seemed unfair, in part because of the school's location. The issue became one of much political and racial debate, which led to the discussion of a rural location for a normal school. The task of seeking a location for a normal school in the rural section of the state was given to a four-member search committee led by T.H.
Harris. In 1912, Legislative Act 118 authorized the closing of the New Orleans campus and the reestablishment of the university on a new site. 1914 welcomed a new Southern University located north of Baton Rouge on the Kernan Place.
The new site was where the original marker of the red stick or Baton Rouge in French was discovered by French explorer, Sierre de Iberville in 1699. When the institution was transferred from New Orleans there was just one building on the campus, a wooden one-story structure containing four bedrooms, a kitchen, and a dining room with front and back porches. In 1914, after receiving a portion of a $50,000 national land-grant appropriation, Southern University opened with 47 students, 17 of whom were boarding students. Dr. Joseph Samuel Clark, president of the Louisiana Colored Teachers Association, was invited to head the newly located school.
President Clark A humanitarian concerned with the handicapped, the underprivileged, and the unfortunate obtained funding to establish the university's State School for Negro Blind in 1922. The State School for the Deaf followed in 1938. Upon retirement in 1938, Clark recommended that his son, Felton Grandison Clark, who was dean of the university at that time, become president. The young and energetic F.G. Clark implemented a building and... expansion project that propelled Southern University into becoming the largest institution of its kind. For 30 years, F.G.
Clark worked to nurture Southern University's growth. Nevertheless, the university was was catapulted into the center of national attention. In 1960, seven Southern University students quietly sat at the S.H.
Kress White-Only lunch counter in downtown Baton Rouge. They were arrested for refusing to leave. Clark, in an effort to save the university from closing, was forced to expel the students. The event later led to a landmark Supreme Court decision that exonerated the students.
Dr. Felton G. Clark retired in 1968. Dr. G. Leon Netterville was appointed president in 1969, serving until 1974. As America entered the turbulent 70s, so did Southern University. It was a time of student unrest on campuses across the nation. In 1974, the Southern University Board of Supervisors was authorized by the Louisiana Constitution. It was established to manage all campuses.
of the newly formed Southern University System. To date, it is the only historically black land-grant university system in America and is comprised of five campuses. Southern University New Orleans, established 1956. Southern University Shreveport, established 1964. The Southern University Law Center, established 1947. Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, established 1916. 2000, and Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, established 1914. Of the five campuses, three are located on the university's initial relocation site of the Kernan Plantation in Baton Rouge. Dr. Jesse N. Stone served as fourth president from 1974 to 1985, followed by Dr. Joffrey T. Wissenden, 1985 to 1988. Dr. Dolores Spikes, the sixth... President of the university, serving from 1988 to 1996, is the first African-American woman to be named Chief Executive Officer of a public university.
Following Dr. Spikes was Dr. Leon R. Tarver II, who became the seventh president followed by Dr. Ralph Slaughter. In 2010, Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr. was elected president of the Southern University System. Each campus is led by a chancellor who serves as the chief administrative officer for the institution.
James Lorenz is chancellor of Southern University, Baton Rouge. Freddie Pitcher, Jr., chancellor, Southern University Law Center. Leodre Williams, Jr.
Chancellor, Southern University Agricultural and Research Extension Center, Dr. Victor Upolo, Chancellor, Southern University New Orleans, and Dr. Ray Belton, Chancellor, Southern University Shreveport. Today, Southern University Baton Rouge, with approximately 8,200 students enrolled, is a comprehensive institution providing four years of education, baccalaureate, master's, professional and doctoral degrees. The campus boasts a serene and inviting landscape located on a bluff overlooking the mighty Mississippi River. Southern University also remains a forerunner in the development of unique academic programs and innovative research. Renowned for its quality graduates, Southern University is one of the nation's top 10 producers of minority students who go on to graduate school and one of the top 20 producers of science, mathematics, and engineering graduates who go on to complete doctoral degrees.
Other distinguished graduates include 10 who rank as generals in the United States Army. Educational, corporate, and public sector alliances continue to support the university's strategic plan and community partnerships. More growth is on the horizon as the university works to maintain a phenomenal accreditation status and establish new campus structures including dormitories, academic learning facilities, and athletic facilities. Southern University is truly a national symbol of excellence and will continue to establish higher standards for higher goals. Others before us have tested the waters and mastered the currents.
When planning for growth, sow seeds. When planning for maturity, plant trees. When planning for perpetuation, educate the people.