Rate this HBCU Day 40: Fort Valley State University

[DrBanneker]

Last we looked at Dillard University in New Orleans which received an average score of 8.4.

See the updated leaderboard here

Fort Valley State University is located in Fort Valley, Georgia a small town in central Georgia in Peach County (near Warner Robins and Macon). It is one of the three large public HBCUs in Georiga along with Albany State and Savannah State.

Fort Valley State University was formed by the combination of two schools in 1939. The Fort Valley High and Industrial School that was a junior college affiliated with the Episcopal Church and the State Teachers and Agricultural College of Forsyth. The former was founded in 1895 which is the founding date FVSU claims. After consolidation, the Episcopal Church relinquished control to the state and it became a public institution and later a land grant college.

Fort Valley is known for its agriculture department and produces the third highest number of grads amongst HBCUs in this discipline.

In a unique case in 1972, FVSU was sued by a group of White plaintiffs on grounds that it must desegregate (Hunnicutt, et al. v. Burge, et al.). The suit's root cause was state Georgia law changes that allowed college students to vote in local elections. The FVSU students voting in Fort Valley almost forced many of the previously all White officials to lose their seats. Soon after a suit was filed claiming that FVSU needed to integrate its students and staff and openly stating that allowing FVSU to remain all Black would maintain its 'inferior' performance as compared to other White public institutions. After a court battle, where the FVSU White professors testified there was no discrimination or bias, the Judge sided with the plantiffs and orderd FVSU to desgregate, even lecturing the FVSU administration that they needed to read Booker T. Washington's Up from Slavery to understand the real goal of education in helping students become viable citizens. In the end most of the desgregation only happened with faculty and FVSU still remains 90%+ Black.

Founded: 1895

City, State: Fort Valley, GA

Type: 4-Year Public

Nickname: Wildcats

Enrollment and percent Black enrollment: 2,923 (2,666 undergraduate), 92% Black

Part-time student percentage: 16%

First Generation Student Percentage: 34%

Percentage of students from households under $30k/over $100k: 62% / 4%

Out of State Percentage: 7%

Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 21:1

Admissions Acceptance Rate: 72%

4-yr/6-yr graduation rates: 22% / 45%

Transfer out rate: 29%

Male/Female percentages (Female:Male Ratio): 37% male/ 63% female (1.7:1)

Tuition: In-state: $6k, Out-of-state: $17k

Median Federal Debt After Graduation: $31k

Median Parent PLUS Loans After Graduation: $15k

Median Earning 10-Years after 10 years from freshman year: $36k

Median Earnings for specific majors after 3 years after graduation:
Computer Science: $50k, Business Administration: $34k, Biology: $34k

Top Majors by Degrees:
Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Biology, Veterinary Program, Computer Science

Endowment: ~$7M

Alumni Engagement: 13% of alumni give back

Athletic Conference: SIAC (NCAA Div II)

Mascot: Wildcat

Notable Alumni:

John W. Blassingame - long-time former head of Yale's African-American studies department

Robert J. Jones - Current (and first Black) chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Ted Daniels - president of Society for Financial Education & Professional Development and developer of a financial literacy program for HBCUs

Charles Robinson - President & CEO of President and CEO of Sadie G. Mays Health and Rehabilitation Center in Atlanta (named for Dr. Benjamin Mays' wife)

Main Campus

Student Center

Wildcat Stadium

HPE Arena

FVSU Blue Machine Marching Band

FVSU Cheerleaders

FVSU Dancing Doll Divas

Miss FVSU

@FukYaFeelings @Voice of Reason
@ab.aspectus @Originalman @#1 pick @Ziggiy @SupaVillain @Tug life @Idaeo @get these nets @MostReal @Bryan Danielson @Rollie Forbes @Willie Lump Lump @staticshock @Charlie Hustle @BigAggieLean. @Optimus Prime @How Sway? @DropTopDoc @Anerdyblackguy

 

[Voice of Reason]

I went down there for a few years then transferred the last year to get my degree somewhere else. It had the same problems that most HBCUs have, mainly the administration department but it was a cool small town school for what it was.

 

[Rollie Forbes]

FVSU is a very respectable school. I give them a 7.

 

[DropTopDoc]

Had a few friends from chiropractic school that went there, they were ( i believe) our rival when we jumped conferences, it’s cool for what it is

 

[Voice of Reason]

They had some baddies on that pic in the OP

 

[Born2BKing]

They had some baddies on that pic in the OP

Hope you not talm bout them cheerleaders

 

[Tribal Outkast]

My only problem with FVSU was that it’s by nothing. You definitely don’t want to go there if you don’t have a car.. unless you make friends with someone with a car. The campus wasn’t too bad. They had a few bad chicks there. The student center parties used to be dope. I’m definitely giving it a 7.

 

[get these nets]

The backstory of the "desegregation" of the school. Wow!
As if white students weren't allowed to apply and enroll if they wanted to.

 

[BigMoneyGrip]

They had some baddies on that pic in the OP

Hilmen got better baddies

 

[Voice of Reason]

Hope you not talm bout them cheerleaders

DANCING DIVAS

 

[Voice of Reason]

The backstory of the "desegregation" of the school. Wow!
As if white students weren't allowed to apply and enroll if they wanted to.

CRACKERS ARE A SINISTER GROUP OF PEOPLE.

 

[The Solid One]

Those cheerleaders...

 

[DrBanneker]

The backstory of the "desegregation" of the school. Wow!
As if white students weren't allowed to apply and enroll if they wanted to.

The plantiffs originally wanted a forced integration that would have made the school substantially White (how they would pull this off without applicants is the big question). But faculty was integrated to like 1/3 - 1/2 non-Black academics I think at the time.