North Carolina A&T University was founded on March 9, 1891
On Monday, 03.09.1891,North Carolina A&T University was founded.
*On this date in 1891, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University was founded. They are one of over 100 historically Black colleges and unversities in America.
North Carolina A. and T. is a public, coeducational institution in Greensboro, North Carolina, part of the University of North Carolina System. The university confers Bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in a wide range of fields. Courses offered include agricultural studies; animal science; chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, and industrial engineering; landscape architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; and transportation technology.
Research facilities at the university include the Agricultural Research Center.
Reference:
Black American Colleges and Universities:
Profiles of Two-Year, Four-Year, & Professional Schools
by Levirn Hill, Pub., Gale Group, 1994
ISBN: 0-02-864984-2
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The history of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the first land grant college for people of color in the state of North Carolina, can be traced back to 1890, when the United States Congress enacted the Second Morrill Act which mandated that states provide separate colleges for the colored race. The "Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race" (now North Carolina A&T) was established On March 9, 1891 by an act of the General Assembly of North Carolina and began in Raleigh, North Carolina as an annex to Shaw University. The college made a permanent home in Greensboro with the help of monetary and land donation by local citizens. The college granted admission to both men and women from 1893 to 1901, when the Board of Trustees voted to restrict admission to males only. This policy would remain until 1928, when female students were once again allowed to be admitted.
In the second half of the century, N.C. A&T experienced many changes. In 1967, The college was designated a Regional University by the North Carolina General Assembly and renamed "North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University." During this period, students would be involved with protests in connection to the Civil Rights Movement. Students staged sit-ins at local segregated businesses, and the campus served as the setting for a conflict between protesters and the US National Guard during the 1969 Greensboro Uprising. In 1971, the North Carolina General Assembly redefined N.C. A&T as a regional university and through legislation make it a constituent of the University of North Carolina.
In the 21st century N.C. A&T was classified as a doctoral/research intensive university by the Carnegie Foundation. The university also generates contracts with major international companies, foundations and federal agencies securing funding to enhance academic programs, provide student scholarships, and reach its goal to position itself as a premier institution of higher learning and research on a state, national, and international level.
The US Congress laid the foundation for the establishment of North Carolina A&T through the passing of The Second Morrill Act of 1890. Signed into law August 30, 1890, and aimed mainly at the confederate states, the second Morrill Act of 1890 required that each state show that race was not an admissions criterion, or else to designate a separate land-grant institution for persons of color. Unlike the schools under the first Morrill Act, states were granted cash to establish the endowments to support these schools. In order to comply with the Second Morrill Act and yet prevent admission of African Americans to the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now known as North Carolina State University, the college's Board of Trustees were empowered to make temporary arrangements for students of color.
On March 9, 1891, the "Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race" was established by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly as an annex of the private Shaw University in Raleigh. The act read in part: "That the leading objective of the college shall be to teach practical agriculture and the mechanic arts and such learning as related thereto, not excluding academic and classical instruction." The college, which started with four teachers and 37 students, initially offered instruction in Agriculture, English, Horticulture, and Mathematics. The college continued to operate in Raleigh until the Board of Trustees voted, in 1892, to relocate the college to Greensboro. Other cities considered were Durham, Mebane, Raleigh, and Wilmington, North Carolina. With monetary and land donations totaling $11,000 and 14 acres (57,000 m²), the new Greensboro campus was established the following year and the college's first President, John Oliver Crosby, was elected on May 25, 1892.
The main building of the new college, called "the college building" was completed in 1893. The multi-purpose building served as dormitories for men and women, food service, classrooms and offices. The building was destroyed by fire in 1930. The college conferred its first degrees in 1899 to W.T.C. Cheek, I.S. Cunningham, and A. Watson receiving Bachelor of Science degrees & A.W. Curtis, E.L. Falkner, J.M. Joyner, and P.E. Robinson receiving Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degrees. The college granted admission to both men and women of color from 1893, until the Board of Trustees voted to restrict admission to males only in 1901. This policy would remain until 1928, when female students were once again allowed to be admitted. In 1904, the college developed a 100-acre farm equipped with the latest in farm machinery and labor-saving devices. During that time, the university farm provided much of the food for the campus cafeteria. In 1915, the North Carolina General Assembly changed the name of the college to Negro Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina.
With Land-grant colleges being required to provide military training as part of its core curriculum. The Junior Unit of Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (R.O.T.C.) was inaugurated in 1919. This two-year program continued until the Senior Division R.O.T.C. was established in 1942, followed by the senior Air Force unit in 1951 In 1925, Dr. Ferdinand D. Bluford was selected as the third president of the college, and A&T became a member of the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association (now known as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association). The next year, the College's National Alumni Association was established. In 1928, the 27-year ban on female students was lifted as the college once again was granted co-educational status. By December 1931, female students are allowed, for the first time, to participate in the student government as members of the student council. In 1939, the college was authorized to grant the Master of Science degree in education and certain other fields. Two years later, the first Master of Science degree was awarded to Roy Elloy.
The 1940s and 1950s saw the college expand its land holdings. In 1946, the college acquired 96 acres of land adjacent to the original 14-acre campus [ In 1953, The School of Nursing was established, with the first class graduating four years later. 1955 saw more changes, as Dr. Warmoth T. Gibbs was selected as the fourth President of the College. Two years later, the college experienced another name change to the "Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina". In that same year, the college's first white student, Rodney Jaye Miller of Greensboro, was admitted. In 1959, the college was fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).