Alcorn State University (ASU) was founded in 1871 as the first land-grant institution for blacks in the United States under the Federal Morrill Act. The university was created as a “seminary of learning” and was originally named Alcorn University of Mississippi by the state legislature in honor of Governor James L. Alcorn for his recommendation that the university be established.

Alcorn State University is the epi-center for higher education in southwest Mississippi, and has been recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture as a Center of Excellence for Rural Development. Alcorn’s Master of Business Administration Program and School of Nursing are located in Natchez, Mississippi. Recently, the university expanded its program offerings in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Courses on the graduate and undergraduate levels in education, computer networking, computer science, nutrition and human sciences are now offered in Vicksburg.

Alcorn is affectionately known as the “Academic Resort,” and is committed to academic excellence and the holistic development of the person. During the last ten years, Alcorn State University has consistently sustained the following national rankings: one hundred percent of the teacher education graduates passed the National Teacher Examination; one hundred percent of the nursing students who took the state licensure examination, passed on both, associate degree and baccalaureate degree levels; awarded the greatest number of master’s degrees in teacher education to African-Americans; number one among the nation’s one hundred institutions in producing African-American graduates with agriculture business and production degrees; number six in African-American baccalaureate graduates in the biological sciences; number seven in African-American baccalaureate graduates in engineering-related technologies; number nine in African-American baccalaureate graduates in agriculture sciences; and number ten in African-American baccalaureate graduates in mathematics. These rankings are according to the U.S. Department of Education.

During the 2002-2003 school year Alcorn State University received a number of awards. One of them was the Halbrook Award for Academic Achievement Among Athletes at Mississippi schools in the Men’s Public Division. Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr., president of Alcorn, received the award at the annual MAC Junior/Senior College Conference, recently held at the University of Mississippi. The purpose of the Halbrook Award is to recognize colleges and universities that maintain and achieve high academic standards for student athletes, thus encouraging high graduation rates. The award is administered cooperatively by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the State Board of Community and Junior Colleges and the Mississippi Association of Independent Colleges.

Alcorn State University prides itself on being a “communiversity”, an institution that melds academic excellence with meaningful and effective community interaction. The university and the community are working together as true partners for the mutual benefit of both. Under the “communiversity” concept, Alcorn State University is engaged in a variety of activities to educate the next generation of citizens and to build communities in a changed world. Among the most successful programs at the university is the Saturday Science Academy. The program provides a rewarding experience that is educational and motivational for the surrounding communities. Through the program, students in grades five through eight are introduced to the disciplines of chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics and computer science. Each three-hour Saturday session includes a scientific lecture and a hands-on activity. Parents participate in the various activities with their children, thus broadening the university’s community impact.

Another noteworthy program is Alcorn’s telemedicine project. The ASU Nursing School and the University of South Alabama, as partners, are utilizing a portable computer monitoring device called a VitalLink to bring medical services to rural citizens. In complicated medical cases, doctors in different locations can view a patient’s scans or X-rays, discuss what they see, and come to a consensus on treatment. Telemedicine brings immediate medical expertise to patients in rural areas who might be unable to travel to specialists for consultation.

Alcorn’s unique research is focused on feeding the world and lighting the world. The ASU School of Agriculture is a national leader in nutrition and assisting Mississippi small farmers in growing and marketing alternative crops with high economic value, e.g., sweet potatoes. Through its unique fuel cell research, Alcorn generates electricity by converting animal waste and biomass into electrical energy without combustion. This technology has national and international applicability.

The new honors dormitory was opened and is occupied by students this year. The State Metrology and Measurement Laboratory was recently completed as well on the ASU campus. The Metrology Lab serves as a measurement center for industries, government agencies, educational institutions, commerce and research institutions for the entire state of Mississippi. It is the state’s only Metrology Laboratory. Construction of the new MBA building in Natchez has also started and is scheduled to be completed in 2004.

Alcorn State University and the Natchez Opera Festival joined forces to help advance cultural activities in southwest Mississippi. It’s also an opportunity for Alcorn students to expand their horizons. The collaboration has been accomplished since Dr. David Blackburn, director of the Natchez Opera Festival, became a voice teacher and director of choral activities at Alcorn State University. The ASU choirs have had tremendous success in their performances and tours nationwide.

Last year, Alcorn State University in conjunction with the Mississippi Art Commission sponsored the 22nd Annual High School Jazz Festival. Terence Blanchard Quintet was the guest artist for the festival this year.

Currently, the Department of Fine Arts is working on the play, “Hello, Out There,” under directorship of Stuart Margolin, a well-known published writer, off-Broadway playwright, composer director and actor. The premiere of the play is scheduled for February 11, 2003.

Alcorn’s Cooperative Extension Program operates in 26 counties in Mississippi. The university has demonstration farms in Mound Bayou, Mississippi and in Kemper/Winston Counties.

Alcorn’s future will be as glorious as its past through its general research programs and continuing research in the life sciences, particularly biotechnology. Alcorn State University has grown from a small center of liberal arts preparation to an agricultural and mechanical college of wide recognition and has emerged as a multifaceted university.

The Alcorn State University campus is a “must see” for anyone traveling in southwest Mississippi. The ASU Historic District, including Oakland Memorial Chapel, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. We invite you to visit this historic campus – the “Academic Resort.”

Dr. Clinton Bristow, Jr., the sixteenth president of Alcorn State University, assumed the presidency on October 9, 1995.