Kentucky State University (KSU, or less commonly, KYSU, to differentiate from Kansas State University) is a four-year institution of higher learning, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, the state's capital. Traditionally, the school was a historically black university, but African-American enrollment has dwindled to just 35% today. The current president of the university is Dr. Mary Evans Sias.
History
The school was chartered in 1886 and opened in 1887 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons. In 1890, the state of Kentucky gave the school a land grant. In 1902, the name of the school was changed to the Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute for Colored Persons, which was changed again in 1926 to the Kentucky State Industrial College for Colored Persons. In 1938, the school became known as the Kentucky State College for Negroes (the "for Negroes" was dropped in 1952). The college became a full-fledged university in 1972. In 1973, Kentucky State offered its first graduate programs.
An adjoining high school was in operation from the late 1890s until the early 1930s.
Statistics
Kentucky State University is the smallest of the public schools in Kentucky, enrolling 2,300 students at the 2004 count. 130 full-time faculty members currently work at Kentucky State. The campus is 511 acres, built on a bluff that overlooks the city of Frankfort.
Notable alumni
- Ersa Hines Poston, first black person to head the United States Civil Service Commission
- Moneta Sleet Jr., photographer for Ebony, won a Pulitzer Prize for his picture of Coretta Scott King at the funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.
External link
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