Prairie View A&M University

Coordinates: 30°05′40″N 95°59′15″W / 30.0944°N 95.9875°W / 30.0944; -95.9875
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Prairie View A&M University
File:Pvamuseal.gif
MottoPrairie View Produces Productive People
TypeState university
Established1876
Endowment$34 million
PresidentDr. George C. Wright
Academic staff
422
Students7,912
Location
Prairie View
,
Texas
,
United States
NicknamePanthers
Websitewww.pvamu.edu

Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. Founded in 1876, Prairie View A&M University is the second oldest state-sponsored institution of higher education in Texas. With an established reputation for producing engineers, nurses and educators, PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools. PVAMU is dedicated to fulfilling its land-grant mission of achieving excellence in teaching, research and service. It is also a school with a long and proud military tradition, producing some of the foremost Black flag officers in both the Army and Navy.

History

In 1876, the Fifteenth Texas Legislature, consistent with terms of the federal Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act, which provided public lands for the establishment of colleges, authorized an "Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Benefit of Colored Youth" as part of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University).[1] Governor Richard Hubbard appointed a three-man commission, including Ashbel Smith, a long-time supporter of public education. The Commissioners bought Alta Vista Plantation, near Hempstead in Waller County, Texas for $15,000, and turned the school over to the A&M board. Texas A&M President Thomas S. Gathright selected L. W. Minor of Mississippi as the first principal, and on March 11, 1878, eight young African-American men enrolled in the short-lived Alta Vista Agricultural College. They were charged tuition of $130 which included nine months of instruction, board, and one uniform.[2] In 1879, as the institution was struggling to find resources to continue, Governor Oran Roberts suggested closing the college. But Barnas Sears, an agent for the Peabody Fund, persuaded the Sixteenth Texas Legislature to issue charters two normal schools for the training of teachers, one of which would be called Prairie View Normal Institute. The Texas A&M College board met at Hempstead in August 1879, and established thirteen elementary and secondary subjects, and founded the coeducational institution. Women were housed in the plantation house, now called Kirby Hall, and boys were housed in a combination chapel-dormitory called Pickett Hall. Among the first faculty appointed to the new normal school was E. H. Anderson. In 1882, a strong storm damaged Pickett Hall. This came at the same time as state funds ran out. State Comptroller William M. Brown refused to continue paying the school's debts from the state's university fund, so Governor Roberts had to solicit money from merchants. E. H. Anderson died in 1885, and his brother L. C. Anderson became the principal of Prairie View. A longstanding dispute as to the mission of the school was resolved in 1887 when the legislature added an agricultural and mechanical department, thus returning the college to its original mission.[3]

Presidents of Prairie View A&M University

L.W. Minor 1878-1879 (Principal)
E.H. Anderson 1879-1885 (Principal)
L.C. Anderson 1885-1896 (Principal)
E.L. Blackshear 1896-1915 (Principal)
I.M. Terrel 1915-1918 (Principal)
J.G. Osborne 1918-1925 (Principal)
W.R. Banks 1926-1947 (Principal)
E.B. Evans 1947-1966
A.I. Thomas 1966-1983
P.A. Pierre 1983-1989
J.W. Becton, Jr. 1989-1994
C.A. Hines 1994-2003
George Wright Current

Academics

The university offers a broad range of academic programs through the following administrative units:

The College of Agriculture and Human Sciences The School of Architecture The College of Arts and Sciences The College of Business The College of Education The College of Engineering The College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology The College of Nursing The Graduate School

Athletics

File:PVAM.PNG

Prairie View A&M University offers a wide variety of varsity and intramural sports programs.

Varsity sports

Men's and women's athletics teams at the University are nicknamed the Panthers, and the team colors are purple and gold. Prairie View A&M is a charter member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), and is a member of the West Division of the SWAC in sports where the conference is divided. Prairie View competes in NCAA Division I-AA in football, and Division I in all other varsity sports. The football team lost a record 86 consecutive games between 1989-98, almost doubling Columbia University's 44 straight losses between 1983-88. [1] On November 10, 2007, it clinched its first winning season since 1976 with a 30-27 victory over traditional power Jackson State University. Men's varsity sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis, and track and field. Women's varsity sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

The women's basketball team received national attention in 2005 with the naming of Cynthia Cooper as the women's head basketball coach. Cooper is a two time WNBA MVP. Cooper brings a wealth of knowledge, connections, and expertise to the women's basketball program. In her second season as coach, Cooper led the Lady Panthers to the school's first ever SWAC title and NCAA Tournament berth.

In 1974 and 1976 the women's outdoor track and field team won AIAW national championships.

Prairie View A&M University Marching Storm

The Prairie View A&M University Marching Storm is the university's official marching band. The marching band is under the direction of Prof. George W. Edwards the director of majorettes is Dr. Marget Sherrod assistant band directors are Dr. William McQueen, Prof. Larry Jones, and Mark gordon. The Marching Storm supports the Delta Psi chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity Inc. (est.1919-chapter 1966) along with the Epsilon Psi chapter of Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority Inc. (est. 1946-chapter 1976). The Marching Storm has earned a reputation as one of the best bands in the land, and has received many accolades for its outstanding performances and showmanship. The Marching Storm is joined by the renowned Black Foxxes, the university majorettes. The Black Foxxes,under the direction of Dr. Margaret Sherrod, are known for their energetic, yet classy and elegant performance style. The band has performed at such high-profile events as President George W. Bush’s 2001 Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C., and the Dallas Cowboys' 2004 Thanksgiving Day game. The band has been selected as one of the top 10 marching bands in the country by the Historically Black Colleges and Universities to participate in the Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase in Atlanta, Georgia. The Marching Storm is also well known for its energetic marching drumline. The drumline, known as "The McFunk B.O.X", has had a long history of "revolutionizing the art of showstyle marching percussion", incorporating a funky and unique style with DCI-influenced drumming techniques and the most surprising visuals ever seen, incorporating acrobatic feats. Founded in 1984 by Prof. Edwards, "The B.O.X.", as they are affectionately called, is the first drumline to debut a percussion feature in the middle of the band's halftime shows, beginning in the fall season of 1989.

Student life

The university enrolls 6,324 undergraduate students and 1,758 graduate students who come from all 50 U.S. states and several countries throughout the world. Currently 56% of the students are female, and 44% are male.

The university sits on a 1,440-acre campus in Prairie View, TX. The university is 47.4 miles from the city hall of Houston.

Students at Prairie View A&M University live in on campus housing owned by American Campus Communities. Freshmen students live in the University College community on campus. Upper classmen live in all apartment style living. They can either live in University Village Phase I, II, or III. The first of these apartment buildings was built in 1996.

Greek life

All nine members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council are represented at PVAMU. Though not a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Kappa Kappa Psi a national Honorary Band Fraternity, was the first Greek organization to have a chapter on campus.

The university alma mater

"Dear Prairie View"

Dear Prairie View, our song to thee we raise
in gratitude, we sing our hymn of praise,
For mem'ries dear, for friends and recollections,
For lessons learned while here we've lived with thee,
For these we pledge our hearts full of devotion,
To serve thee now, and through eternity.
As days go by, our hearts will not grow cold,
We'll love thy purple royal and thy gold,
We'll through our lives exemplify thy teachings,
We'll always strive a blessing be.
Thy children we our love and pride confessing,
We'll love thee now, and through eternity.

Words by O. Anderson Fuller,
Music from "Finlandia" by Sibelius

Notable graduates

References

  1. ^ Handbook of Texas Online
  2. ^ Handbook of Texas Online
  3. ^ Handbook of Texas Online

External links

30°05′40″N 95°59′15″W / 30.0944°N 95.9875°W / 30.0944; -95.9875

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