Kentucky State University (KSU) is a public university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, KSU was the second state-supported institution of higher learning in Kentucky. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,025 and a total graduate enrollment of 134.
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History
Kentucky State University was chartered in May 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, only the second state-supported institution of higher learning in Kentucky. During the euphoria of Frankfort's 1886 centennial celebration, the city donated $1,500 towards the purchase of land for a new college on a bluff overlooking Frankfort.
The new school formally opened on October 11, 1887, with three teachers, 55 students, and John H. Jackson as president. Recitation Hall (now Jackson Hall), the college's first permanent building, was erected in that year.
KSU became a land-grant college in 1890, and the departments of home economics, agriculture and mechanics were added to the school's curriculum. The school produced its first graduating class of five students in the spring of that year. A high school was organized in 1893. This expansion continued into the 20th century in both name and program. In 1902, the name was changed to Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute for Colored Persons. The name was changed again in 1926 to Kentucky State Industrial College for Colored Persons.
In the early 1930s, the high school was discontinued, and in 1938 the school was named the Kentucky State College for Negroes. The term "for Negroes" was dropped in 1952. Kentucky State College became a university in 1972, and in 1973 the first graduate students enrolled in its School of Public Affairs.
In the spring of 2017, a majority of the faculty voted "no confidence" in both the full board of regents and board chair. Faculty cited many issues that influenced their vote, including tenure and promotion, funding, and the recent presidential search. Black faculty members, who had specific concerns about "racial disparities in promotion and tenure," formed a new "Faculty Caucus of Color" and held their own vote. In contrast to the vote held by the entire faculty, this vote expressed "highest confidence" in the board of regents chair and "no confidence" in the faculty senate president.
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Academics
Students are divided into four colleges, four associate degrees, 55 undergraduate degrees and six post-graduate programs.
- College of Agriculture, Food Science and Sustainable Systems
- College of Arts and Sciences, offering degrees in Art, Biology, Chemistry, English, General Social Sciences, Mass Communication and Journalism, Mathematics, Music, Music Education, Music Performance, Political Science, Psychology and Spanish.
- College of Business and Computer Science, offering degrees in Business Administration and Computer Science.
- College of Professional Studies, offering degrees in Applied Information Technology, Criminal Justice, Education, Nursing, Public Administration and Social Work.
The university also offers five liberal study degrees through the Whitney Young School (WYS) of Honors and Liberal Studies, which consists of a Honors Program, an Integrative Studies Program and an International Studies Program. The degrees include Africana Studies and Liberal Studies.
Library
The Paul G. Blazer Library, constructed in 1960, houses a collection of more than 700,000 items includes extensive reference, periodical and circulating collections of materials such as books, videos, microforms, sound recordings and others, to aid students in their course work and research. It is named after Paul G. Blazer, a strong supporter of education who was the founder and CEO of Ashland Oil and Refining Company in Ashland, Kentucky.
Demographics
As of 2014, Kentucky State University was host to 2,025 undergraduate students and 134 graduate students. African Americans comprised 49% of the undergraduate and 45% of the graduate student body.
Athletics
Kentucky State University teams participate as a member of the Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The school's mascot are the Thorobreds. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, and indoor and outdoor track and field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball and volleyball.
The Exum Center, the university's athletic and recreational complex, was named after William Exum, the first African-American varsity football player at the University of Wisconsin. Exum was hired as head of KSU's Physical Education department in 1949, and later made head of the Athletics department. He then became manager of the United States Track and Field teams at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. Exum retired from KSU in 1980.
Notable alumni
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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