Virginia State University
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Former names
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Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (1882-1902) Virginia State College for Negroes (1902-1946) Virginia State College (1946-1979) |
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| Motto | "Building a Better World" |
| Type |
Public Land-grant HBCU |
| Established | March 6, 1882 |
| Endowment | $47.4 million |
| President | Makola M. Abdullah |
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Academic staff
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300 |
| Students | 6,000 |
| Location | Petersburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Campus | Suburban, 236 acres (95.5 ha) |
| Colors | Orange and Blue |
| Athletics | NCAA Division II – CIAA |
| Nickname | Trojans |
| Affiliations | |
| Website | www |
Virginia State University (VSU), also known as Virginia State, is a historically black public land-grant university located north of the Appomattox River in Petersburg. Founded on March 6, 1882, Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for black Americans. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Following the American Civil War, William Mahone (1826–1895) of Petersburg, Virginia was the driving force in 1870 to combine the Norfolk and Petersburg, South Side and the Virginia & Tennessee railroads to form the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad (AM&O). The new line extended from Norfolk to Bristol. After the AM&O struggled to operate for several years under receiverships, the railroad was sold at auction in 1881 and became part of the Norfolk and Western Railway.
Mahone, a former Confederate general, led Virginia's Readjuster Party. He was a major proponent of public schools for the education of freedmen and free blacks. Elected by the state legislature as a United States Senator from Virginia, he arranged for the proceeds of the AM&O sale to help found a normal school for black teachers near Petersburg. Alfred W. Harris, a black attorney who was a state delegate, introduced the bill that established the institute. In 1882, the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute at Ettrick was established.
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