Rate this HBCU Day 78: Alcorn State University

[DrBanneker]

We last covered Southern University of Shreveport which received an average score of 5.

See the updated leaderboard here

Today we head to Mississippi to celebrate one of the least-known large HBCUs, Alcorn State University. In rural Mississippi, it has long been one of the top 25 largest HBCUs by enrollment but was oft neglected until its band and famous sports alum such as Steve McNair help raise its profile.

Alcorn was the first land grant school in Mississippi and was established in 1871 during Reconstruction when Republicans still controlled Mississippi state government. It was established on the campus of the defunct Oakland College and some buildings such as the chapel were inherited from this institution. Alcorn was named after James L. Alcorn the White Republican politician who served as both governor and US Senator during Reconstruction. Its first president was the Black US Senator from Mississippi, Hiram Revels.

Originally intended to be a university, it was pushed into vocational education after Reconstruction ended and renamed Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. It would not be named a university again until 1974. Women were finally admitted in 1895.

Alcorn has several outstanding aspects compared to many peers including a relatively selective admissions rate and one of the higher graduation rates amongst public HBCUs. It also has several unique programs including a major in robotics and automation as well as a full military science program to complement ROTC.

Its marching band and sports have also brought it notoriety in the past decades. Its band has some of the highest view counts of any HBCU I have seen on Youtube. The first band video in the marching band section later in the post is only a year old with 8.5 million views.



Founded: 1871

City, State: Alcorn State, MS (near Lorman, MS)

Type: 4-year, Public

Nickname: Braves and Lady Braves

Enrollment and percent Black enrollment: 3,074 (2,533 undergraduate), 95% Black

Part-time student percentage: 16%

First Generation Student Percentage: 35%

Percentage of students from households under $30k/over $100k: 66% / 4%

Out of State Percentage: 38%, (Top States: Louisiana, Illinois, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, California)

Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 15:1

Admissions Acceptance Rate: 39%

4-Yr / 6-Yr Graduation rates: 33% / 42%

Transfer out rate: N/A

Male/Female percentages (Female:Male Ratio): 34% male/ 66% female (1.9:1 ratio)

Tuition: In-State and Out-of-State: $9k

Median Federal Debt After Graduation: $28k

Median Parent PLUS Loans After Graduation: $11k

Median Earning 10-Years after 10 years from freshman year: $25k

Median Earnings for specific majors after 3 years after graduation:
Registered Nursing: $70k, Agricultural Business and Management : $53k, Criminal Justice: $39k, Biology: $37k

Top Majors by Degrees:
Biology, Business Administration, Liberal Arts, Agricultural Studies

Endowment: ~$50M (incl. $25M from MacKenzie Scott)

Alumni Engagement: 2% of alumni give back

Athletic Conference: SWAC (NCAA Div 1)

Mascot: Braves

Main Campus:

Math & Science Building

Robotics and Automation Department

Spinks-Casem Stadium

Shirley A. Gibbs Walker Court

Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite Band

First video has 8.5 million views





Cheerleaders

Golden Girls Dancers

Miss Alcorn State

@Ineedmoney504 @MostReal @Big Boss
@invalid @Originalman @#1 pick @Ziggiy @SupaVillain @Tug life @Idaeo @get these nets @MostReal @Bryan Danielson @Rollie Forbes @Sonic Boom of the South @staticshock @Charlie Hustle @BigAggieLean. @Optimus Prime @How Sway? @DropTopDoc @Anerdyblackguy

 

[DrBanneker]

Notable Alumni:
Alex Haley - acclaimed journalist and novelist (Roots) as well as Malcolm X autobiographer

Medgar Evers - assassinated NAACP leader

Steve McNair - former Titans and Ravens QB

Joseph Dunbar - diabetes researcher

 

[DropTopDoc]

Folks don’t realize how deep in the cut it is, a few folks i know from there, from chiro school and back at the crib in Chicago, to me the finest women were at miss valley but they got some nice jawns

 

[staticshock]

I love Alcorn State..it’s literally in the middle of the woods but the support they show for their school is at the top with FAMU, JSU, Tennessee State, etc.

Some of the nicest folks I’ve ever met was on their campus & in stores in whatever county the school is in.

They have a large alum base in Atlanta & I always come across one or 2 at whatever school I’ve worked at.

I’d recommend Alcorn to anyone

 

[Rollie Forbes]

I have way too many family members who attended Alcorn to not rate it highly.

 

[get these nets]

Great profile. The alumni list. Did not know that Medgar Evers went there.
Well functioning institution, where the extra curricular stuff doesn't overshadow the mission of the school. To educate, develop, and graduate students.

Also, for the record, is it pronounced Al-corn or All-corn?????

I remember McNair's era . and I've watched recent sporting events featuring their program on TheGrio. Have heard it pronounced differently by broadcasters

 

[Rollie Forbes]

Great profile. The alumni list. Did not know that Medgar Evers went there.
Well functioning institution, where the extra curricular stuff doesn't overshadow the mission of the school. To educate, develop, and graduate students.

Also, for the record, is it pronounced Al-corn or All-corn?????

I remember McNair's era . and I've watched recent sporting events featuring their program on Grio. Have heard it pronounced different by broadcasters

I've heard it pronounced both ways, but I've heard more people say All-corn.

 

[AggiePride336.]

@MostReal @Charlie Hustle yall know how we do in here. Since yall alum, drop any stories if you got em.

Beautiful campus, and that alumni list is big time. Much love to the Mississippi HBCUs. I remember when we played them in the celebration bowl. Alcorn was deep out in Atlanta.

 

[AggiePride336.]

Great profile. The alumni list. Did not know that Medgar Evers went there.
Well functioning institution, where the extra curricular stuff doesn't overshadow the mission of the school. To educate, develop, and graduate students.

Also, for the record, is it pronounced Al-corn or All-corn?????

I remember McNair's era . and I've watched recent sporting events featuring their program on Grio. Have heard it pronounced different by broadcasters

I’ve always went with All-corn, but I’ve heard a few pronounce it AL-corn.

With the school being an agricultural school at heart, I’m glad to see they’re doing well. I have a thing for the schools that’s roots started with farming and agriculture

 

[MostReal]

@MostReal @Charlie Hustle yall know how we do in here. Since yall alum, drop any stories if you got em.

Beautiful campus, and that alumni list is big time. Much love to the Mississippi HBCUs. I remember when we played them in the celebration bowl. Alcorn was deep out in Atlanta.

my Alcorn
it's pronounced "Allcorn" yall.

gotta stand up for Senator Hiram Revels that man put in too much work to establish that school. He deserves founder by his name.

I have to admit, Alcorn is kinda an enigma. In one breath it can be described as least known and then at the same time reach out and do things like become the viral sensation of bands or impact the HBCU community and nation despite its reclusive set up - i.e. historic Davey Whitney basketball teams. I think my HBCU is truly a special place.

Inside Alcorn State men’s basketball's NCAA tournament success in the early 1980s

Alcorn State's men's basketball dynasty of the early 1980s is arguably the most successful in HBCU basketball history when considering postseason success. Here's how it all went down.

www.ncaa.com

@DrBanneker I think with this 20 million viewed video, Alcorn is the most viewed HBCU band on youtube of all time.

 

[MostReal]

Great profile. The alumni list. Did not know that Medgar Evers went there.
Well functioning institution, where the extra curricular stuff doesn't overshadow the mission of the school. To educate, develop, and graduate students.

Also, for the record, is it pronounced Al-corn or All-corn?????

I remember McNair's era . and I've watched recent sporting events featuring their program on TheGrio. Have heard it pronounced differently by broadcasters

yep Medgar and Myrlie Evers met and fell in love at Alcorn, there's a video on the internet about it somewhere. She should be added to the alumni list too up there.

 

[Charlie Hustle]

Beneath the shade of giant trees...

So many stories! Especially band stories. I don't even know where to start. @MostReal my Crab year was 99. I stayed on bus one with the GG's every trip I didn't fukk with bus 4

One night at practice, it started storming and power went off on campus. Band Practice was cut short as a result. We crabs knew it was about to go down some we ran back to the tower to prepare for the worst. Back then, all of the crabs where on the 2nd and 4th floor. Next thing you know, we start hearing old heads in the hall chanting "We Ready" by Pastor Troy.


Next thing you know, were start hearing peoples doors getting kicked in and old heads beating down and kidnapping crabs. Me and my roomdawg managed to get out of the tower before they could get to us and we ended up chilling in our crab sisters room in Robinson Hall.

One year during homecoming week, we kidnapped out crabs and dropped them off in the woods somewhere. For those that don't know, Alcorns campus is huge. 1700 total acres. We waited for them at the end of the road to make sure they made it out okay. About 1 hour later we see them walking towards us carrying some big ass sticks. We asked them what they had the sticks for and they just said "We heard something"

Here's some other quick notes.

Every year we had a "freaklist" circulating around campus. This one chick was always ranked #1

Trina came down for springfest. My homebody was 6"10 built like prime Shaq and she picked him out of everyone in the concert to go back stage and kick it with her.

I was a out of state student so after football season, the campus was a ghost town except for certain Basketball games. I found a way to get into the press box of the football stadium and every other weekend we would kick it there. We were smart enough to make sure we left it how we found it and we could see campus police coming a literally a mile away.

There was this mom and pop store called Patton's by the back gate. They stayed cutting a hole in the fence so students could have easy access to the store. Patton's was the closest thing to fast food there except for Nathans at the Union. Some dude from Patton's would come through the dorms singing "two pork chops and a biscuit" all soulful and shyt. Those plates used to hit because the cafe was trash back then.

Thursday night was lit. Block party on campus. People busting loops (driving around campus bumping music, hanging out their cars and after the block party was over, we would hit the Old Country Store which was a restaurant that doubled as a club and other hole in the wall clubs.

We had a unofficial alternate frat to the Ques called the Wrecking Crew

My crab brother went temporally blind for a hour drinking moonshine

The yard had so many places around campus that could kick it. From time to time we could kick it with Russian students. They loved Jim Beam.

There was a secret back road on campus that would take you to a literal ghost town.

Steve McNair used to pop up and campus sometimes and was a laid back humble guy. I have much respect for him. Gone too soon

 

[Charlie Hustle]

@MostReal you gotta drop some stones breh!

 

[Charlie Hustle]

Alcorn's School of Nursing ranks No. 1 on NursingSchoolHub.com’s Top 25 list for HBCU nursing programs

The Cora S. Balmat School of Nursing at Alcorn State University receives more recognition for being a top institution.
The School ranks No. 1 on Nursing on NursingSchoolHub.com’s Top 25 Historically Black Colleges & Universities Nursing Schools for 2020 list.

The School offers a well-regarded associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees in nursing. The School also launched the University’s first doctorate program with its Doctor of Nursing Practice program. All degrees are accredited by the Accreditations Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
“Alcorn’s School of Nursing is a premier school known for producing some of the nation’s best nurses in the field,” said Nave. “Our students find instant success in the job market upon earning nursing degrees because of their exceptional training and work ethic. The School’s faculty and staff are dedicated to preparing their students to have successful careers once they graduate.”

Nave also spoke about how students can pursue their educations at an affordable price. She applauds the School for providing an experience where students can focus on achieving their dreams.

Story Details - Alcorn State University

Story Details - Alcorn State University

www.alcorn.edu

 

[MostReal]

@MostReal you gotta drop some stones breh!

Been busy breh, when I get time I'll drop some gems