Jackson State University

Jackson State University (Jackson State, or JSU) is a historically black university in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1877 in Natchez, Mississippi by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York, the Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, renaming it Jackson College, and developed its present campus in 1902. It became a state-supported public institution in 1940. A member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, JSU holds an important place in the history of US civil rights.

History
Jackson State University started as Natchez Seminary, a private school, under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York, to educate Mississippi's newly freed and underprivileged blacks.


 * 1877: Operated for 63 years as a private church school beginning with only twenty students. Inman Edward Page was the only black member of the original faculty.
 * 1882:, the decision was made to purchase the fifty-two-acre J.A.P. Campbell estate in North Jackson, Mississippi. In 1883, the Society moved the school to Jackson, to the site where Millsaps College now stands. A part of this transition was the renaming of the school to Jackson College in recognition of the institution’s new, central location in the City of Jackson. Natchez Seminary soon relocated from its site in north Jackson to a tract of land in the southwest section of the city.


 * In 1902, construction on the present campus's site began.


 * In 1924, the first bachelor’s degree was awarded. During this period, the major educational activities were directed toward teacher education for in-service teachers.


 * When the American Baptist Home Mission Society withdrew its support from the institution in 1934, A new board of trustees was organized that kept the school open. On May 30, 1938, control of the Board of Trustees was transferred to Jackson College, Incorporated.


 * In 1940, the school was transferred from the private control of the church to the state education system and renamed Mississippi Negro Training School. Initially, the school had been specifically designated by the state to train rural and elementary teachers. In 1942, the Board of Trustees expanded the curriculum to a full four-year teacher education program, culminating in the Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. In May 1944, the first four-year graduating class under state support received their degrees. In 1944, Mississippi Negro Training School was renamed Jackson College for Negro Teachers


 * In 1953, the Division of Graduate Studies was organized during the Summer and the program of Liberal Arts started in the fall of that year. In 1956, Jackson College for Negro Teachers was renamed Jackson State College.


 * During the late 1960s, the entire curriculum was reorganized and the following schools were established: the Schools of Liberal Studies, Education, Science and Technology, Business and Economics and the Graduate School.


 * On 14 May 1970, two black students were shot and killed (and 12 wounded) by state police during anti-Vietnam War protests in the Jackson State killings. Four hundred pieces of buckshot had struck the woman's dormatory. Howard Zinn reports a local grand jury found the attack justified.


 * On March 15, 1974, Jackson State College was designated Jackson State University. Jackson State College gained university status in accordance with the expanded breadth and quality of its faculty and academic programs. From 1967-1977, the faculty tripled in size and the number of faculty members with graduate degrees increased eightfold. In 1979, the University was officially designated the state’s Urban University by the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.


 * In the late 1980s, the University and its surrounding community was enriched through the expansion of the Universities Center; the establishment of the West Jackson Community Development Corporation to improve blighted housing around the campus; the organization of a Staff Senate; and the creation of a Center for Professional Development and the Center for Technology Transfer.


 * In the 1990s, a Campus Master Plan that projected the growth of the University into the 21st Century was developed. Fifteen new graduate and undergraduate programs evolved. These academic achievements were bolstered by the establishment of the School of Social Work, the formation of the School of Engineering, and the fall 1998 opening of the School of Allied Health Sciences, the School of Business received accreditation of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a $13.5 million expansion of the H. T. Sampson Library, which doubled the capacity of the original structure, was completed, and the $17.2 million School of Liberal Arts building was occupied in 2001.


 * In Fall 2000, the University received doctoral research intensive status with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This prestigious designation was based on the awarding of more than 20 doctoral degrees from the Division of Graduate Studies and the $40 million in federally funded research contracts secured through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.


 * In 2002, the University celebrated its 125th anniversary. It developed and implemented its strategic plan–Beyond Survival: The Millennium Agenda for Jackson State University. The five-point strategic plan is moving Jackson State University to a new academic excellence. Thus, Vision 2020 was created to fulfill the first strategy–Remodel the Learning System at JSU. In 2002, the University was reorganized into six colleges: College of Business; College of Public Service; College of Liberal Arts; College of Science, Engineering and Technology; College of Lifelong Learning; and College of Education and Human Development.


 * In 2004, a $20 million College of Business building was completed.


 * In 2006, a new 91000 sqft student health wellness center opened. For the first time in the University’s history, private bond financing was secured to renovate some facilities on campus and to build new facilities, including a new Campus Union, a new president’s house, new student apartments, and dormitories which opened in 2006. The campus transformation and wide array of academic programs enhanced Jackson State’s presence.

Campus
Jackson State University is located in Jackson, the capital city and the cultural, political, geographic and business center of Mississippi. The campus is a 245 acre campus with 51 academic and administrative buildings. The main campus is located on JR Lynch St between Prentiss and Dalton St.

Ayer Hall was constructed in 1903 and is the oldest structure on campus. It was named in honor of the First President and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Green-Gibb Pedestrian Walkway (Plaza) was named in honor of those who died in the Jackson State killings. The Walter Payton Health & Wellness Center was constructed in 2006.

Academics
A historically black Doctoral/Research public university, Jackson State educates a diverse student population in a broad range of baccalaureate, m asters and doctoral programs. The learning process is enhanced through experiential learning. Jackson State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and is 1 of only 2 Historically Black Colleges and Universities to be classified as a research intensive university with high research activity by The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, along with Howard University.

JSU colleges include:
 * College of Business
 * College of Education and Human Development
 * College of Liberal Arts
 * College of Public Service
 * College of Science, Engineering and Technology
 * College of Lifelong Learning

Athletics
Athletic teams are a member of the NCAA Division I-FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) Southwestern Athletic Conference, commonly known as the SWAC. All SWAC sports are DI with Football being FCS. Currently, the university fields teams in men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, golf, tennis, soccer, and bowling; women's volleyball; and men's football. The university's mascot is the Tiger, and the teams are sometimes referred to as the "Blue Bengals."

The Tiger men's football team has a heralded history, winning and sharing 16 SWAC titles, including 2007. Its most famous alumni includes NFL Hall of Famers Lem Barney, Jackie Slater and Walter Payton, and former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith.

The men's golf team has gained notoriety as it has become a SWAC powerhouse and perennial NCAA tournament participant under head coach Eddie Payton, older brother of Walter Payton.

JSU's well-known rivals include Southern, Alcorn State, Mississippi Valley State, Tennessee State and Texas Southern.

Sonic Boom of the South
The Jackson State University Marching Band, “The Sonic Boom of the South” is a musical group.

The band was first organized in the early 1940s. As early as the mid-1920s, the University had a well-organized orchestra. The group was given the nickname, “The Sonic Boom of the South” by band director Harold J. Haughton, Sr. in 1971. In 1971, the majorettes abandoned their batons and became a dance team known as the Prancing J-Settes, also named by Haughton. In 1974, “Get Ready,” an old Motown favorite was selected as the band’s theme song. Also, during the mid-1970s, the “Tiger Run-On” was perfected. Created by Haughton, the “Tiger Run-On” is a fast, eye-catching shuffle step that blends an adagio step with an up-tempo shuffle (200 steps per minute), then back to adagio—a “Sonic Boom” trademark that brings fans to their feet during halftime performances. Oct 1990, Under the direction of Dowell Taylor and staff, The Sonic Boom of the South performed in Los Angeles, California for Motown 30-What's Going on. This was the event that set the wheels in motion for the national attention of the Sonic Boom.

The J-Settes
Prancing J-Settes” is the official name of the Jackson State University dance line, an auxiliary group of the Jackson State University Marching Band, “The Sonic Boom of the South.” The Prancing J-Settes are currently supervised by Dowell Taylor, current Director of Bands. The Jackson State University Marching Band, “The Sonic Boom of the South” is an ensemble of the Department of Music, Dr. Jimmie James, Jr., Chair.

“The thrill of a thousand eyes,” were the words spoken by Dr. Jimmie James, Jr. at the onset of the “Prancing Jaycettes” in 1971. Shirley Middleton, a former majorette, initiated the concept of the majorettes abandoning their batons and dancing to popular musical selections. As the majorette sponsor, Shirley Middleton and the majorettes met with Dr. John A. Peoples, the University’s sixth president, and requested that they be permitted to “put down their batons.”

Dr. Peoples agreed and thus legends were born. In 1970, Middleton assembled 18 majorettes, and their notoriety immediately began to soar in rapid proportions. Their beauty, grace, and poise were astounding and their dance routines to songs such as “Kool-Aid,” James Brown’s “Make it Funky,” and “Hot Pants,” were magnificent, unmatched by any other competing groups.

The group was initially named the “Prancing Jaycettes.” The group’s name became official in 1971. However, in 1982, the Prancing Jaycette organization officially changed its name to Prancing J-Settes, because of a name conflict with a local organization known as the Jackson Jaycees/Jaycettes.

As a trained ballet dancer, Shirley Middleton held the J-Settes to a very high standard of perfection. Also, the late Hollis Pippins, a JSU twirler and a dancer of high performance in his own right, took great pride in providing the J-Settes with excellent choreography. In addition to emphasis on perfecting dance routines, it was completely unacceptable for any J-Sette to display mannerism and stature of anything less than a model citizen.

Shirley Middleton served as sponsor of the J-Settes from 1970-1975. In 1975, Narah Oatis was appointed the sponsor of the J-Settes. Under her leadership, the Prancing J-Settes became nationally renowned. During her reign, J-Sette marching techniques such as the “Salt and Pepper,” “J-Sette Walk,” “Strut,” and “Tip Toe” were perfected. The J-Settes consisted of lines of 12-16 young ladies who marched in rows affectionately named “Short and Sassy,” “Magnificent Middle,” or a “Tall and Tough.” Mrs. Oatis's tenure is best remembered by many for the J-Settes’s stellar performance at the 30th Anniversary of Motown in 1990,  the  “Coming to America routine,” “Proud Mary,” and the “Liturgical dance routine.”  (“Coming to America” and the “Proud Mary” routines were both originally performed in 1995.  The “Liturgical dance routine” was first performed in 1996.)  Narah Oatis served as director (sponsor) of the Prancing J-Settes for 21 years. She resigned as sponsor of the J-Settes in February 1997.

Student media
Jackson State is home to radio station WJSU-FM which plays jazz, gospel, news and public affairs programming. It also houses a low-powered television station, W23BC. Jackson State also publishes the independent Blue and White Flash weekly student newspaper.

Sports
Currently heach coach of the Phoenix Suns.