Prairie View A&M University
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Former names
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Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Benefit of Colored Youth Prairie View University |
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| Motto | Prairie View Produces Productive People. |
| Type |
Public, HBCU Land-grant |
| Established | 1876 |
| Endowment | $69.2 million |
| President | George C. Wright |
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Academic staff
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422 |
| Students | 8,762 (Fall 2016) |
| Location | Prairie View, Texas, United States |
| Colors | Purple and Gold |
| Athletics | NCAA Division I – SWAC |
| Sports | 16 varsity sports teams |
| Nickname | The Hill, Panthers & Lady Panthers |
| Mascot | Panther |
| Affiliations |
Texas A&M University System APLU TMCF |
| Website | www |
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Prairie View A&M University, commonly abbreviated PVAMU or PV, is a historically black university (HBCU) located in Prairie View, Texas, United States (northwest of Houston). The University is a member of the Texas A&M University System. In 2016, PVAMU celebrated its 140th year.
The University offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through eight colleges and the School of Architecture. PVAMU is one of the Texas land-grant universities. Founded in 1876, PVAMU is the 2nd oldest public university in the State of Texas, and is named an "institution of the first class" in the Texas Constitution. The University is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The university is rooted in the Texas Constitution of 1876. Established during the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War. In that year, senators Matthew Gaines and William H. Holland – both former slaves who became leading political figures - crafted legislation for the creation of a state-supported "Agricultural and Mechanical" college. In another article, the constitution stated that "Separate schools shall be provided for the white and colored children, and impartial provisions shall be made for both."
In an effort to comply with these constitutional provisions, 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 the "Alta Vista Agriculture and Mechanical College for the Benefit of Colored Youth" as part of the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University).
Governor Richard B. Hubbard appointed a three-member commission that purchased Alta Vista Plantation (1388 acres) from Mrs. Helen Marr Kirby, the widow of the late Col. Jared Ellison Kirby, near Hempstead in Waller County, Texas for $15,000. Alta Vista Plantation was one of four plantations and several farms owned by the Kirby family, whose combined properties had a population of more than 400 slaves. The commission appointed the Texas University board to keep the school, and Texas A&M president Thomas S. Gathright selected L. W. Minor of Mississippi as the first principal.
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