Bluefield State College
| Motto | Making Education Possible |
|---|---|
| Type | Public, HBCU |
| Established | 1895 |
| President | Marsha Krotseng |
| Location | Bluefield, West Virginia, United States |
| Campus | Bluefield (main campus), Beckley, Lewisburg, Summersville and Welch, West Virginia |
| Colors |
Royal blue & gold |
| Athletics | NCAA Division II |
| Nickname | Big Blues |
| Mascot | Big Blue |
| Website | www.bluefieldstate.edu |
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|
| Bluefield Colored Institute | 1895-1932 |
| Bluefield State Teachers College | 1932-1943 |
| Bluefield State College | 1943–Present |
Bluefield State College (BSC) is a historically black college located in Bluefield, West Virginia, United States. It is a part of West Virginia's public education system and offers baccalaureate and associate degrees. The only non-residential four-year college in the state system, Bluefield State administers the separately accredited New River Community and Technical College, which conducts classes throughout the southeastern part of West Virginia. Bluefield State College is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Even though it maintains its federal status as a historically black college, the student body at Bluefield State College is less than 13% black and over 80% white.
According to its charter, the school was founded in 1895 as Bluefield Colored Institute and created as a "high graded school," for the Negro youth in the nearby area. It later served as a teacher training school in the state's then-segregated system of education. The new school, assisted by the federal Morrill Act, was to be located on four acres on the north side of the Norfolk and Western Railway's massive Pocahontas Division rail yards in Bluefield, a central location within 100 miles of 70% of West Virginia's black citizens.
Bluefield Colored Institute began modestly with 40 pupils under the supervision of Hamilton Hatter, Bluefield State's first president, although he was denied the prestigious title, instead serving as "principal." Hatter oversaw the construction of Mahood Hall, the administrative building, as well as Lewis Hall and West Hall dormitories. Hatter was an energetic leader who built the foundation of the College. He faced enormous challenges, running the institution with no legislative appropriations whatsoever for two years. In the late 1920s, the students and staff of the school referred to it as "Bluefield Institute", but this name was never sanctioned by the West Virginia legislature. In 1906, Hatter handed the reins of leadership at BCI to Robert P. Sims, a graduate of Hillsdale College, who would lead Bluefield State for three crucial decades. Sims showed dedication, commitment, and prudent management in his lengthy tenure at Bluefield State. By adopting formal teacher training--"normal education"—in 1909, Sims created the great role that Bluefield State would play, educating educators to carry traditions of excellence throughout the bustling coalfields, fulfilling the mission of its enabling legislation.
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