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{{Infobox university
 |name              = Alcorn State University
 |native_name       =
 |image_name        =
 |image_size        =
 |caption           =
 |latin_name        =
 |motto             =“Knowledge and Character: That's the Alcorn Difference.”
 |mottoeng          =
 |established       = 1871
 |closed            =
 |type              = [[Public university|Public]]
 |affiliation       =
 |endowment         =
 |officer_in_charge =
 |chairman          =
 |chancellor        =
 |president         = Dr. [[M. Christopher Brown II]]
 |vice-president    =
 |superintendent    =
 |provost           =
 |vice_chancellor   =
 |rector            =
 |principal         =
 |dean              =
 |director          =
 |head_label        =
 |head              =
 |faculty           =
 |staff             =
 |students          = 4,391
 |undergrad         =
 |postgrad          =
 |doctoral          =
 |other             =
 |city              = [[Lorman, Mississippi|Lorman]]
 |state             = [[Mississippi]]
 |province          =
 |country           = <br>[[United States]]
 |coor              =
 |campus            = {{convert|1700|acre|km2|abbr=on}}
 |former_names      =
 |free_label        =
 |free              =
 |sports            =
 |colors            = [[Purple]] and [[Gold (color)|Gold]]<br>{{color box|#7851A9}} {{color box|#daa520}}
 |colours           =
 |nickname          = Braves; Alcorn A's
 |mascot            =
 |athletics         =
 |affiliations      =
 |website           = [http://www.alcorn.edu www.alcorn.edu]
 |logo              =
 |footnotes         =
}}
'''Alcorn State University''' is a [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically black]] comprehensive land-grant institution in [[Lorman, Mississippi]]. It was founded in 1871 by the [[Reconstruction era]] legislature to provide higher education for [[freedmen]]. It was the first black land grant college in the United States.  

The university is counted as a [[census-designated place]] and had a resident population of 1,017 at the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]].<ref name="Census 2010">{{Cite web| url=http://factfinder2.census.gov| title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Alcorn State University CDP, Mississippi| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=March 28, 2012}}</ref> 

[[Medgar Evers]], a [[civil rights]] activist, graduated in 1948 from here. Students at the college were part of the mid-twentieth century civil rights struggle, working to register residents for voting and struggling to end segregation. Other alumni have been activists, politicians and professionals in Mississippi and other states. The University is a member-school of the [[Thurgood Marshall College Fund]].

{{coord|31.87694|-91.14111|display=title}} 

==History==
Alcorn State University was founded on the site originally occupied by Oakland College, a school for whites established by the Presbyterian Church.

Oakland College closed its doors at the beginning of the [[American Civil War]] so that its students could fight for the [[Confederate States of America]]. When the college failed to reopen at the end of the war, the property was sold to the state of Mississippi.  It renamed the facility Alcorn University in honor of James L. Alcorn in 1871, then the state's governor, and established it as a [[historically black college]].

[[Hiram R. Revels]] resigned his seat in the United States Senate to become Alcorn's first president. The state legislature provided $50,000 in cash for ten successive years for the establishment and overall operations of the college. The state also granted Alcorn three-fifths of the proceeds earned from the sale of {{convert|30000|acre|m2}} of land scrip for agricultural colleges. The land was sold for $188,928 with Alcorn receiving a share of $113,400. This money was to be used solely for the agricultural and mechanical components of the college. From its beginning, Alcorn State University was a land-grant college.

In 1878, the name Alcorn University was changed to Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. The university's original {{convert|225|acre|km2}} of land have grown to become a {{convert|1,700|acre|km2}} campus. The goals for the college set by the Mississippi legislature clearly emphasized training rather than education. The school, like other black schools during these years, was less a college than a vocational school intended to prepare students for the agricultural economy of the state and most of their hometowns.

At first the school was exclusively for black males but in 1895 women were admitted. Today, women outnumber men at the university eighteen hundred to twelve hundred.

In 1974 Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College became Alcorn State University. Governor William L. Waller signed House Bill 298 granting university status to Alcorn and the other state supported colleges. Alcorn had already become a more diversified university. It provides an undergraduate education that enables students to continue their work in graduate and professional schools, engage in teaching, and enter other professions. It also provides graduate education to equip students for further training in specialized fields. 

Alcorn began with eight faculty members in 1871. Today the faculty and staff number more than 500. The student body has grown from 179 mostly local male students to more than 4,000 students from all over the world.

While early graduates of Alcorn had limited horizons, more recent alumni are successful physicians, lawyers, pharmacists, dentists, educators, administrators, managers, and entrepreneurs. Alcorn has had eighteen presidents, with Dr. M. Christopher Brown II becoming the eighteenth president in 2011. 

Alcorn State is now fully accredited, with seven schools and degree programs in more than fifty areas, including a nursing program. The facilities have increased from three historic buildings to approximately 80 modern structures with an approximate value of $71 million.
<ref>[http://www.alcorn.edu/about/default.aspx?id=559 "About"], Alcorn University</ref>

<ref>{{cite web|title=Alcorn State University: Past Presidents|url=http://www.alcorn.edu/inauguration/default.aspx?id=6671|publisher=Alcorn State University|accessdate=20 September 2012}}</ref> ==Past Presidents<ref>http://www.alcorn.edu/inauguration/default.aspx?id=6671</ref>==

{| class="wikitable"
!Name!!Years!!Interim
|-
|[[Hiram Rhodes Revels]]
|1871&ndash;1882
|No
|-
|John Houston Burrus
|1882&ndash;1893
|No
|-
|Wilson H. Reynolds
|1893&ndash;1894
|No
|-
|Thomas J. Calloway
|1894&ndash;1896
|No
|-
|Edward H. Triplett
|1896&ndash;1899
|No
|-
|[[William H. Lanier]]
|1899&ndash;1905
|No
|-
|Levi John Rowan
|1905&ndash;1911
|No
|-
|John Adams Martin
|1911&ndash;1915
|No
|-
|Levi John Rowan
|1915&ndash;1934
|No
|-
|Isiah S. Sanders, Acting President
|1934&ndash;1934
|No
|-
|William Harrison Bell
|1934&ndash;1944
|No
|-
|Preston Sewell Bowles
|1944&ndash;1945
|No
|-
|William Harrison Pipes
|1945&ndash;1949
|No
|-
|Jesse R. Otis
|1949&ndash;1957
|No
|-
|John Dewey Boyd
|1957&ndash;1969
|No
|-
|Walter Washington
|1969&ndash;1994
|No
|-
|Rudolph E. Waters, Sr.
|1994&ndash;1995
|Yes
|-
|Clinton Bristow, Jr.
|1995&ndash;2006
|No
|-
|Malvin A. Williams, Sr.
|2006&ndash;2008
|Yes
|-
|George E. Ross
|2008&ndash;2010
|No
|-
|Norris Allen Edney
|2010&ndash;2011 
|Yes
|-
|M. Christopher Brown
|2011&ndash;
|No
|-
|}

==Academics==
The university enrolls over 2,500 full-time and 348 part-time undergraduate students and 600 graduate students.  Women outnumber men in a ratio 3:2.

'''Organization'''

The university is made up of seven schools, offering over 50 different fields of study.
*School of Agriculture, Research, Extension and Applied Sciences
*School of Arts and Sciences
*School of Graduate Studies
*School of Business
*School of Education and Psychology
*School of Nursing
*College for Excellence

==Honors Program==
The Honors Program is an option for students who wish to further enhance their academic experience and leadership roles.<ref>http://www.alcorn.edu/Academics/honors/Default.aspx</ref>

==MBA Program==
Alcorn State University offers a general MBA program through its Natchez campus. Most classes are conducted in evening to accommodate its working executive students. Over last few years the MBA program has been very popular with international students, in fact a high percentage of international students at Alcorn State University are enrolled in its MBA program.

==Global Programs==
Besides coordinating study-abroad opportunities, Global Programs brings worldwide perspectives to campus through exchange programs and special events.<ref>http://www.alcorn.edu/offices/global/default.aspx?id=233</ref>

==Pre-Professional Programs==

Alcorn offers Pre-Professional Programs to prepare students for a transition to specialized studies in the fields of law, engineering, nursing, physical therapy, pharmacy and dentistry.<ref>http://www.alcorn.edu/Academics/PreProfessionalPrograms/Default.aspx?id=727</ref>

==Accreditation==
Alcorn State University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Associate, Bachelor‘s, Master‘s, and Specialist in Education degrees.

Alcorn‘s teacher education program is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. The Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics is accredited by the American Dietetics Association. The Associate of Science in Nursing degree, the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, and the Master of Science in Nursing degree programs are accredited by the National League for Nursing Accreditating Commission. Alcorn State University is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music, the National Association of Industrial Technology and the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

==Locations==
The main campus is located near [[Lorman, Mississippi]], while the Nursing School and the Business School's Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is located in [[Natchez, Mississippi]]. There is also a [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]] site.

===Main campus===
The main campus is located in rural southwestern Mississippi, {{convert|45|mi|km}} south of Vicksburg,<ref name="Searcy"/> {{convert|40|mi|km}} north of Natchez, and {{convert|80|mi|km}} southwest of [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]].<ref>"[http://www.alcorn.edu/about/default.aspx?id=565 Driving Directions]." Alcorn State University. Retrieved on April 25, 2012.</ref> As of 1994 the closest hotels and/or restaurants to the Alcorn campus are {{convert|15|mi|km}} from campus, along [[U.S. Highway 61]].<ref name="Searcy"/>

Male residence halls include Medgar Wiley Evers Heritage Village Complex and Hiram Revels Hall.<ref name="Malerez">"[http://www.alcorn.edu/offices/housing/default.aspx?id=225 Male residence halls]." Alcorn State University. Retrieved on May 3, 2012.</ref> Female residence halls include Medgar Wiley Evers Heritage Village Complex buildings A and B, John Burrus Hall, and the Female Honors Residence Hall.<ref>"[http://www.alcorn.edu/offices/housing/default.aspx?id=223 Female Residence Halls]." Alcorn State University. Retrieved on April 25, 2012.</ref>

'''Recent Campus Additions include:'''
* 5&nbsp;mi (8.0&nbsp;km) Bike/Walking Trail
* [[Foster Baseball Field at McGowan Stadium]]
* Medgar Wiley Evers Heritage Village (student housing)
'''Current and planned construction projects include:'''
* School of Business (Dumas Hall) renovations

===Other locations===
{{Expand section|date=May 2012}}
The Natchez Campus Residence Hall, completed in 1998, is the residence hall of the Natchez campus. It includes three buildings, with a commons building, a male residence hall building, and a female residence hall building. The complex includes the Student Nursing Hall, which houses Alcorn State students and [[Copiah - Lincoln Community College]] (Co-Lin) students.<ref name="Malerez"/>

==Athletics==
{{see also|Alcorn State Braves football|Alcorn State Braves men's basketball}}
Jay Searcy of the ''[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' wrote in 1994 that Alcorn had "a gritty football team that has sent 68 players to the [[National Football League]]...", an achievement for a small school in a rural area of Mississippi.<ref name="Searcy">Searcy, Jay. "[http://articles.philly.com/1994-11-01/sports/25868294_1_steve-mcnair-alcorn-cardell-jones A Phenom Puts The Middle Of Nowhere On The Map Alcorn State's Steve Mcnair Is An Out-of-this-world Qb In An Out-of-the-way Place. He's Getting It A Lot Of Attention]," ''[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]''. November 1, 1994. Retrieved on May 3, 2012.</ref> His article was chiefly about [[Steve McNair]], who is among those numerous players to have gone on to professional football careers.

==Notable alumni==
===News, Journalism, Civil Rights, Politics, Entertainment, Modeling===
{{AlumniStart}}

{{Alum|name=Gwen Belton|year=|nota=News anchor and senior reporter who worked at TV news stations in Jackson Mississippi, Natchez Mississippi, Greenville Mississippi, and Miami, Florida|ref=[http://miami.cbslocal.com/personality/gwen-belton]}}
{{Alum|name=[[Albert Butler]]|year=1970|nota=Mississippi State Senator|ref=[http://www.facebook.com/notes/alcorn-state-university/alcorn-alumnus-albert-butler-sworn-in-to-the-mississippi-senate/376988112370]}}
{{Alum|name=[[Horace R. Cayton]] Sr.|year=c.1880s|nota=journalist and politician, who was one of first blacks to serve on county and state delegations in [[Seattle, Washington]]|ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=242|title=Online History - Washington State |publisher=state.ak.us|accessdate=2011-01-29}}</ref>}}

{{Alum|name=[[Katie G. Dorsett]]|year=|nota=Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 28th district|ref=}}

{{Alum|name=[[Medgar Evers]]|year=1948|nota=First [[NAACP]] field secretary|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Alex Haley]]|year=|nota=Author of ''[[Roots: The Saga of an American Family]]''|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Orlando Kilcrease]]|year=1991|nota=[[Chairman]] (Mississippi Farm Service Agency State Committee)|ref=[http://www.facebook.com/notes/alcorn-state-university/alcorn-graduate-appointed-chair-of-mississippi-farm-service-agency-state-committ/317085517370]}}

{{Alum|name=[[Iris Kyle]]|nota=Female Professional bodybuilder|ref=}}

{{Alum|name=[[Kimberly Morgan]]|nota=[[Miss Mississippi]] 2007|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Michael Clarke Duncan]]|year=|nota=[[Actor]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Alexander O'Neal]]|year=attended|nota=[[Musician]]|ref=}}

{{Alum|name=[[Ed Smith (alderman)|Ed Smith]]|year=|nota=former alderman of the 28th ward in Chicago, Illinois from 1983 to 2010.|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=Jesse Smith|year=1999|nota=Appeared as Gladiator "Justice" in 2008 revival of [[American Gladiators (2008 TV series)|American Gladiators]]''|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Joseph Edison Walker]]|year=1903|nota=President of Universal Life Insurance Company in Memphis, Tennessee|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Timon Kyle Durrett]]|year=1998|nota=Appeared as "Quinn" on VH1's Single Ladies and various TV shows, plays, commercials, and films.|ref=}}

{{AlumniEnd}}

===Sports===
{{AlumniStart}}

{{Alum|name=[[Jack Spinks]]|year=1952|nota=Former Professional [[American football|football]] player for the [[New York Giants]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Jimmy Giles]]|year=1977|nota=Former Professional football player for the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Roynell Young]]|year=1980|nota=Former Professional football player for the [[Philadelphia Eagles]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Jack Phillips (American football)|Jack Phillips]]|nota=Former Professional football player for the [[Kansas City Chiefs]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Milton Mack]]|year1987=|nota=Former Professional football player for the [[Detroit Lions]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Cedric Tillman]]|year=1992|nota=Former Professional football player for the [[Denver Broncos]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Dwayne White]]|year=|nota=Former Professional football player for the [[St. Louis Rams]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Garry Lewis (American football)|Garry Lewis]]|year=|nota=Former Professional football player for the [[Oakland Raiders]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Torrance Small]]|year=1992|nota=Former NFL player for the [[New Orleans Saints]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[John Thierry]]|year=1994|nota=Former NFL player for the [[Chicago Bears]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Steve McNair]]|year=1996|nota= Former American professional [[quarterback]] for the [[Tennessee Titans]] and [[Baltimore Ravens]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Louis Green Jr.]]|year=1996|nota= Former American professional [[Linebacker]] for the [[Denver Broncos]] and [[Former Alcorn Special Team Coach]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Bryant Mix]]|year=1997|nota=Former NFL player for the [[Houston Oilers]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Donte Dowers]]|year=1997|nota=Former Professional football player for the [[Baltimore Ravens]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Carlos Thorton]]|year=1997|nota=Former NFL player for the [[San Francisco 49ers]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Terry Wilkerson]]|year=1998|nota= Former Free Agent player for the [[Arizona Cardinals]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Donald Driver]]|year=1999|nota= Former Professional football player for the [[Green Bay Packers]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=Charles Leon Jackson Jr.|year=1999|nota=Former Free Agent player for the [[New York Jets]], Former AFL player for the [[Grand Rapids]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Lee Terry Moore]]|year=1999|nota= Former Free Agent player for the [[Oakland Raiders]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Chad Slaughter]]|year=2000|nota=Former Professional football player for the Oakland Raiders|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=Reynard Reynolds|year=2000|nota=Current AFL player|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=Kris Peters|year=2002|nota=Current AFL player|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=Marco Walder|year=2002|nota=Former AFL player|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=Terrence Crimiel|year=2002|nota=Former AFL player for the [[Grand Rapids]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Louis Green]]|year=2002|nota=Former NFL player for the [[Denver Broncos]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Charlie Spiller]]|year=2007|nota=Former NFL player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Nate Hughes]]|year=2008|nota=Current NFL player for the [[Detroit Lions]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Leslie Frazier]]|year=1980|nota=Head Coach of the [[Minnesota Vikings]], Former Defensive Coordinator of the [[Minnesota Vikings]], former Special Assistant coach with the [[Indianapolis Colts]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Larry Smith (basketball)|Larry Smith]]|year=1980|nota=Former NBA player and assistant coach in the NBA and WNBA.|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=Malcolm Jones|year=2009|nota= First Black Head Coach [[McComb High School]] in Mississippi|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Lee Robinson (American football)|Lee Robinson]]|year=2009|nota=Professional football player for the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] and [[Denver Broncos]]|ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Emmanuel Arceneaux]]|year=2009|nota=current CFL and NFL player |ref=}}
{{Alum|name=[[Frank Purnell]]|year=|nota=former professional football player for the Green Bay Packers|ref=}}

{{AlumniEnd}}

==External links==
{{Portalbox|Mississippi|African American|University}}
*[http://www.alcorn.edu Official website]
*[http://www.alcornsports.com Official athletics website]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Public Colleges and Universities in Mississippi}}
{{HBCU}}
{{Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund}}
{{Southwestern Athletic Conference navbox}}
{{Claiborne County, Mississippi}}

[[Category:Alcorn State University| ]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Historically black universities and colleges in the United States]]
[[Category:Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities]]
[[Category:American Association of State Colleges and Universities]]
[[Category:Land-grant universities and colleges]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1871]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]]
[[Category:Education in Jefferson County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Education in Adams County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Education in Warren County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Jefferson County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Mississippi]]
[[Category:1871 establishments in Mississippi]]

[[fa:الکورن استیت یونیورسیتی، میسیسیپی]]
[[fr:Université d'État Alcorn]]