Tennessee State University

Tennessee State University
Former names
Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State Normal School for Negroes (1912–1925)
Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State Normal College (1925–1927)
Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College (1927–1968)
MottoThink. Work. Serve
TypePublic, historically black land-grant university
EstablishedJune 19, 1912; 111 years ago (1912-06-19)
AccreditationSACS
Academic affiliation
Endowment$91.1 million (2021)
PresidentGlenda Glover
ProvostMichael Harris (interim)
Academic staff
377 full-time & 114 part-time
Students9,218 (Fall 2022)
Undergraduates7,678 (Fall 2022)
Postgraduates1,540 (Fall 2022)
Location, ,
United States

36°10′00″N 86°49′50″W / 36.16667°N 86.83056°W / 36.16667; -86.83056
CampusLarge city, 903 acres (365 ha)
ColorsBlue and white
 
NicknameTigers and Lady Tigers
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division IOVC
Websitewww.tnstate.edu
Tennessee State University Historic District
Location3500 John A. Merritt Blvd
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
ArchitectMarr & Holman, et al.
NRHP reference No.96000677
Added to NRHPJune 14, 1996

Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Tennessee State University offers 41 bachelor's degrees, 23 master's degrees, and eight doctoral degrees. It is classified as "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

History

The university was established as the Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State Normal School for Negroes in 1912. Its dedication was held on January 16, 1913. It changed its name to Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State Normal College in 1925. Two years later, in 1927, it became known as Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College.

In 1941, the Tennessee General Assembly directed the Board of Education to upgrade the educational program of the college. Three years later the first master's degrees were awarded and by 1946 the college was fully accredited the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Significant expansion occurred during the presidency of Walter S. Davis between 1943 and 1968, including the construction of "70 percent of the school's facilities" and the establishment of the graduate school and four other schools.

In 1968, the college officially changed its name to Tennessee State University, and in 1979, the University of Tennessee at Nashville merged into Tennessee State due to a court mandate.

In 2022, Tennessee State University was awarded a historic $250 million from the state legislature as reparations for decades of discriminatory state funding compared to fellow public Tennessee institutions of higher education. The funds will be used to upgrade facilities and academic programs on campus. Tennessee State's $250 million investment is the largest single investment into a historically black institution in the history of the country.

In 2023, Tennessee State's most well known graduate, Oprah Winfrey, served as the official commencement speaker for the first time.

Today, Tennessee State University is divided into eight schools and colleges and has seen steady growth since its inception. It remains the only public university in Nashville and its health science program is the largest in the state and one of the largest in the nation.

Aligned with the Tennessee Board of Regents, it is currently governed by an institutional board of trustees.

Campus

The 500 acres (2.0 km2) main campus has more than 65 buildings, and is located in a residential setting at 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd in Nashville, Tennessee. Tennessee State's main campus has the most acres of any college campus in Nashville. The Avon Williams campus is located downtown, near the center of the Nashville business and government district. Tennessee State offers on-campus housing to students. There are on-campus dorms and two apartment complexes for upperclassmen. On-campus facilities include dormitories Wilson Hall, Watson Hall, Eppse Hall, Boyd Hall, Rudolph Hall, Hale Hall, as well as the Ford Complex and New Residence Complex, TSU's two on-campus apartment complexes.

Academics

Academic rankings
National
U.S. News & World Report34 (tie) in Historically Black Colleges and Universities; 293-381 in National Universities
Washington Monthly100

The university is currently accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award 38 baccalaureate degrees, 24 master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in seven areas (Biological Sciences, Computer Information Systems Engineering, Psychology, Public Administration, Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Administration and Supervision, and Physical Therapy), as well as two Associate of Science degree programs, one in nursing and one in dental hygiene.

Tennessee State is classified as "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity."

The university is organized into the following colleges:

  • College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Sciences
  • College of Business
  • College of Education
  • College of Engineering
  • College of Health Sciences
  • College of Liberal Arts
  • College of Life and Physical Sciences
  • College of Public Service

The University Honors College (UHC) is an exclusive academic program founded in 1964 that caters to select academically talented and highly motivated undergraduate students.

The College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). It was the first institution in Nashville to earn the accreditation of both its undergraduate and graduate business programs in 1994. The Psychology program is accredited by the American Psychological Association and the Teacher Education program by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

The College of Engineering has developed corporate partnerships with NASA, Raytheon, and General Motors and is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and the National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT).

The College of Health Sciences (formerly the School of Allied Health) includes such programs as the Masters in Physical Therapy and the Bachelor of Health Sciences. The Master of Public Health program was accredited in 2015 by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

Student activities

Tennessee State University Tigers wordmark

Athletics

Tennessee State University sponsors seven men's and eight women's teams in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned sports. The school competes in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision and is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). As a member of the OVC, Tennessee State is one of three Division I HBCU athletic programs that are not members of either the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) or Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), whose members are primarily HBCU institutions.

Student organizations

There are over 60 registered student organizations on campus including the Student Government Association, Aristocrat of Bands (AOB), and many fraternities and sororities.

Notable alumni

Aviation

Name Class year Notability References
U. L. "Rip" Gooch Commercial pilot (20,000+ hours); certified flight instructor; owner/president, Aero Services, Inc.; 1993 Kansas Governor's Aviation Honor Award; inductee, Black Aviation Hall of Fame

Civil rights

Name Class year Notability References
Xernona Clayton 1952 Civil rights activist
U. L. "Rip" Gooch Civil rights activist; Commissioner, Kansas Commission on Civil Rights (also see: "Politics" below)

Education

Name Class year Notability References
Glenda Glover 1974 Eighth president of Tennessee State University
Sylvia Lyons Render 1934 English professor at two HBCUs, manuscript curator at the Library of Congress
Andrew P. Torrence 1948 Third president of Tennessee State University
Arthuryne J. Welch-Taylor 1953 education professor at several HBCUs, researcher with the National Education Association

Entertainment

Name Class year Notability References
Jimmy Blanton Jazz musician
Young Buck Hip hop star [citation needed]
Hank Crawford Jazz musician
Moses Gunn Actor
Lee Summers 1980 Broadway Original Dreamgirls, actor, writer
Carla Thomas Singer [citation needed]
Leon Thomas Jazz singer (attended two years)
Rufus Thomas Singer (attended one semester) [citation needed]
Key Wane 2012 Hip hop record producer
Oprah Winfrey 1987 Talk show host, actress, entrepreneur

Politics

Name Class year Notability References
James Clayborne, Jr. 1985 Member of the Illinois Senate
Vincent Dixie Representative in the Tennessee House of Representatives
Harold Ford, Sr. Member of the U.S. Congress
John Ford Member of the Tennessee Senate [citation needed]
Mark Funkhouser Former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
Howard Gentry, Jr. Politician
U. L. "Rip" Gooch Member, Kansas Senate (oldest serving Kansas state senator at 2004 retirement); member, City Council of Wichita, Kansas (also see: "Civil Rights" above)
Thelma Harper Member of the Tennessee Senate
Harvey Johnson, Jr. Former mayor of Jackson, Mississippi
Ronnie Lewis Former mayor of Dolton, Illinois
Dr. C. O. Simpkins, Sr. Dentist in Shreveport, civil rights activist, and member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992 to 1996
A C Wharton Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee

Science and technology

Name Class year Notability References
Leonard Jordan Acting chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture responsible for cultivating public-private partnerships that result in good land and water management practices.
Dorothy McClendon 1948 American microbiologist who developed methods to protect stored goods, notably fuel, from degradation due to biological agents.
Dorothy J. Phillips 1966 American chemist and Director-at-Large at the American Chemical Society
Jesse Russell Electrical engineer and wireless communications pioneer
Carla Walker-Miller Engineer and founder and CEO of Walker-Miller Energy Services
Angie Jones Software Engineer. Holds 26 patented inventions in the United States of America and Japan.

Sports

Name Class year Notability References
Joe Adams CFL football player
Brent Alexander NFL football player
Hubbard Alexander American football player
Bennie Anderson 1999 NFL football player
Dick Barnett 1959 NBA basketball player
Ralph Boston Olympic athlete; three time medal winning long jumper
Sam Bowers Gridiron football player
Waymond Bryant NFL football player
Chandra Cheeseborough Olympic runner; gold and silver medalist
Robert Covington 2013 NBA basketball player
Dave Davis NFL football player
Richard Dent NFL football player and member of Pro Football Hall of Fame
Keron DeShields Basketball player in the Israeli National League
Lamar Divens NFL football player
Cleveland Elam NFL football player
J.J. Eubanks American basketball player; top scorer in the 1994-95 Israel Basketball Premier League
Charley Ferguson AFL football player
Ryan Fann Paralympic runner
Sean Foley Golf instructor to PGA Tour players
Randy Fuller NFL football player
Rogers Gaines NFL football player
Joe Gilliam NFL football player
W. C. Gorden 1952 Head football coach at Jackson State University, 1976–1991; member of College Football Hall of Fame
Mike Hegman NFL football player
Jarrick Hillery American football player
Claude Humphrey NFL football player and member of Pro Football Hall of Fame
Daniel Johnson NFL football player [citation needed]
Ed "Too Tall" Jones NFL football player
Joe "Turkey" Jones NFL football player
Larry Kinnebrew NFL football player
Anthony Levine NFL football player
Madeline Manning Olympic runner; gold medalist
Anthony Mason NBA basketball player
Edith McGuire Olympic runner; gold and two silver medals
Patrick Miller American basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Steve Moore NFL football player
Lloyd Neal NBA basketball player
Robert Porcher NFL football player
Brian Ransom NFL football player
Leonard "Truck" Robinson NBA basketball player
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie NFL football player
Carlos Rogers 1994 Former NBA basketball player
Wilma Rudolph Olympic runner; first woman of color to win three gold medals in a single Olympics
Simon Shanks NFL football player
Nate Simpson NFL football player
Ahmaad Smith American football player
Ollie Smith NFL football player
Larry Tharpe NFL football player
Wyomia Tyus Olympic runner; first person to retain the Olympic title in the 100 m
Charlie Wade NFL football player
Carl Wafer NFL football player
Willye White 1950s Olympic track and field athlete; two silver medals
Javarris Williams NFL football player

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-19 02:28 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari