Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Bluefield State University
Bluefield State University is a public historically black university (HBCU) in Bluefield, West Virginia. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund but is now a predominantly white institution.
The Bluefield Colored Institute was founded in 1895 as a "high-graded school" for African Americans. At that time, the West Virginia Constitution prohibited racially integrated public education. Bluefield was within 100 miles of 70% of the state's African American residents. The school was located on a steep four-acre (0.016 km2) site to the north side of the Norfolk & Western railroad tracks.
Principal Hamilton Hatter supervised the first class of 40 pupils. Nathan Cook Brackett, an abolitionist and first president of Storer College, served as president of the board of regents. Hatter oversaw the construction of Mahood Hall, the administrative building, as well as dormitories Lewis Hall and West Hall. Mahood Hall was named for State Senator William Mahood (R-Mercer County), who wrote the institute's sponsoring legislation.
In 1906, Hatter was succeeded by Robert P. Sims, who would lead the institute, then college, for three decades. In 1909, the institute became a normal school, adding the training of teachers to its curriculum. By 1920, enrollment climbed to 235, with summer sessions for teacher certification adding hundreds more. Campus growth followed enrollment gains, expanding to 23 acres and the addition of Payne and Conley Halls. Enrollment grew to more than six hundred on its "terraced hills."[citation needed]
The President's House, later renamed Hatter Hall, was built in 1930 and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1932, the State of West Virginia recognized the institute's success, accredited its education curriculum, and changed its name to Bluefield State Teachers College.
Sims' successor, Henry Dickason, was an institute alumnus and president from 1936 to 1952. In 1943, the state again accredited an expanded curriculum and renamed the school Bluefield State College.
Neither the city nor the college were isolated from the demonstrations and demands for civil rights that dominated much of the 1960s. African American students protested that the school administration was working actively to transform Bluefield State from a historic black residential college to a commuter college with predominantly white students. Tension persisted, and on November 21, 1968, a bomb exploded in the gymnasium. No one was injured, but the damage was extensive. A $5,000 reward was offered by Governor Hulett C. Smith, and college president Wendell Hardway responded by closing all dormitories immediately and permanently. Students returning from Thanksgiving break found themselves locked out. The actions accelerated the college's transition to a majority white student body.
Hub AI
Bluefield State University AI simulator
(@Bluefield State University_simulator)
Bluefield State University
Bluefield State University is a public historically black university (HBCU) in Bluefield, West Virginia. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund but is now a predominantly white institution.
The Bluefield Colored Institute was founded in 1895 as a "high-graded school" for African Americans. At that time, the West Virginia Constitution prohibited racially integrated public education. Bluefield was within 100 miles of 70% of the state's African American residents. The school was located on a steep four-acre (0.016 km2) site to the north side of the Norfolk & Western railroad tracks.
Principal Hamilton Hatter supervised the first class of 40 pupils. Nathan Cook Brackett, an abolitionist and first president of Storer College, served as president of the board of regents. Hatter oversaw the construction of Mahood Hall, the administrative building, as well as dormitories Lewis Hall and West Hall. Mahood Hall was named for State Senator William Mahood (R-Mercer County), who wrote the institute's sponsoring legislation.
In 1906, Hatter was succeeded by Robert P. Sims, who would lead the institute, then college, for three decades. In 1909, the institute became a normal school, adding the training of teachers to its curriculum. By 1920, enrollment climbed to 235, with summer sessions for teacher certification adding hundreds more. Campus growth followed enrollment gains, expanding to 23 acres and the addition of Payne and Conley Halls. Enrollment grew to more than six hundred on its "terraced hills."[citation needed]
The President's House, later renamed Hatter Hall, was built in 1930 and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1932, the State of West Virginia recognized the institute's success, accredited its education curriculum, and changed its name to Bluefield State Teachers College.
Sims' successor, Henry Dickason, was an institute alumnus and president from 1936 to 1952. In 1943, the state again accredited an expanded curriculum and renamed the school Bluefield State College.
Neither the city nor the college were isolated from the demonstrations and demands for civil rights that dominated much of the 1960s. African American students protested that the school administration was working actively to transform Bluefield State from a historic black residential college to a commuter college with predominantly white students. Tension persisted, and on November 21, 1968, a bomb exploded in the gymnasium. No one was injured, but the damage was extensive. A $5,000 reward was offered by Governor Hulett C. Smith, and college president Wendell Hardway responded by closing all dormitories immediately and permanently. Students returning from Thanksgiving break found themselves locked out. The actions accelerated the college's transition to a majority white student body.