Latin: Statum Universitas Kentuckiensis | |
Motto | "Inspiring Innovation. Growing Leaders. Advancing Kentucky." |
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Type | Public, HBCU |
Established | 1886 |
President | Aaron Thompson (interim) |
Provost | Beverly L. Downing |
Students | 2,159 |
Undergraduates | 2,025 |
Postgraduates | 134 |
Location |
Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S. 38°12′00″N 84°51′30″W / 38.20000°N 84.85833°WCoordinates: 38°12′00″N 84°51′30″W / 38.20000°N 84.85833°W |
Campus | 915 acres (3.70 km2) |
Colors | Green and Gold |
Nickname | Thorobreds & Thorobrettes |
Sporting affiliations
|
NCAA Division II – SIAC |
Website | www |
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.
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.
Students are divided into four colleges, four associate degrees, 55 undergraduate degrees and six post-graduate programs.
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.