Joseph Winthrop Holley, born in 1874 to former slaves in Winnsboro, South Carolina, founded the institution in 1903 as the Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute.[6] Two educators, Reverend Samuel Lane Loomis and his wife, sent Holley to Brainerd Institute and then Revere Lay College (Massachusetts). When attending Revere Lay, Holley got to know one of the school's trustees, New England businessman Rowland Hazard. After taking a liking to Holley, Hazard arranged for him to continue his education at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Holley aspired to become a minister and prepared by completing his education at Pennsylvania's Lincoln University.
W. E. B. Du Bois inspired Holley to return to the South after he read Du Bois's writings on the plight of Albany's blacks in The Souls of Black Folk. Holley relocated to Albany to start a school. With the help of a $2,600 gift from the Hazard family, Holley organized a board of trustees and purchased 50 acres (200,000m2) of land for the campus, all within a year. The aim of the institution at the time was to provide elementary education and teacher training for the local Black population.
In 1917, the institution became a state-supported school under the name Georgia Normal and Agricultural College, a two-year agricultural and teacher-training institution.[7]
In 1932, the school became part of the University System of Georgia and in 1943 it was granted four-year status and renamed Albany State College.[8] The transition to four-year status heavily increased the school's enrollment.
Joseph Winthrop Holley, founder and first president of Albany State with graduating class, c. 1930.
In 1981 the college offered its first graduate program, a prelude to the school being upgraded to university status in 1996.
In July 1994, most of the campus was flooded and suffered extensive damage when Tropical Storm Alberto caused the Flint River to overflow. Afterwards, the campus was extended towards the east with many new buildings erected on the higher ground.[9]
Albany State University Era
In July 1996, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the change from college to university and the name of Albany State College officially became Albany State University.
A new stadium was opened in 2004 and new housing units opened in 2006.
In 2015, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia announced the merger of Albany State and Darton State College, with Albany State serving as the surviving instituion.[10] In 2017, the two institutions consolidated, with Albany State University retaining its name and branding. The former Darton campus became the university's West Campus and the location of the Darton College of Health Professions.
Since the consolidation, Albany State University has made several gains. Summer enrollment has increased in recent years, particularly among graduate students, reflecting improved student access and programming.[11] Retention rates have also risen, demonstrating enhanced academic support and campus services.[12] ASU continues to contribute significantly to the regional economy—generating over $260 million and supporting thousands of jobs.[13] The university has also expanded its facilities and online learning capacity, including opening a new state-of-the-art simulation facility for health sciences[14] and securing a $2.9 million federal grant to improve broadband access for underserved communities.[15]
Due to the consolidation with Darton, Albany State became the largest HBCU in the state of Georgia and one of the 15 largest in the United States.[16]
Civil Rights Movement
The college played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s. Many students from the school, Black improvement organizations, and representatives from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) came together to create the Albany Movement. The movement brought prominent civil rights leaders to the town including Martin Luther King Jr. and resulted in the arrests of more than 1,000 black protestors. Among the first to be arrested were students from Albany State.[17]
On November 22, 1961, Blanton Hall and Bertha Gober entered the white waiting room of the Albany bus station to buy tickets home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Refusing to leave after being ordered to do so, police arrested them both. Albany State President William Dennis, fearful of losing his position, immediately suspended and eventually expelled the students. This action engendered a great deal of animosity from the black community and the student body.
Gober would continue in the civil rights movement as one of the SNCC's Freedom Singers and write the group's anthem. Bernice Johnson Reagon, another Albany State student who left school to work with the SNCC, would later form the well-known a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock. On December 10, 2011, thirty two of the students who were expelled were granted honorary degrees. The school awarded thirty one honorary baccalaureate degrees and one honorary doctorate – that to Bernice Johnson Reagon. A noted cultural historian, Reagon was also the commencement speaker.[18]
Presidents
The President's Office
Joseph Winthrop Holley served as President of the school from 1903 to 1943. He was succeeded by Aaron Brown (1943–1954), William Dennis (1954–1965), Thomas Miller Jenkins (1965–1969), Charles Hayes (1969–1980), Billy C. Black (1980–1996), Portia Holmes Shields (1996–2005), Everette J. Freeman (2005 – 2013), Art Dunning (2015-2018), and Marion Ross Fedrick (2018-2024), Robert Scott (2025-Present).
Academics
Albany State offers undergraduate and graduateliberal arts and professional degree programs.
According to U.S. News & World Report, in 2019 ASU was ranked 40th (tie) in the magazine's ranking of undergraduate education at HBCUs[19] and was ranked as the 107th-141st school on the Regional Universities (South) list.[19] The student-faculty ratio is 15:1 and 42 percent of the classes contain less than 20 students.[19] The most popular majors are health professions and related, homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting and related, business, management, marketing, psychology, and education. The Velma Fudge Grant Honors Program is a selective program that caters to high-achieving undergraduate students.
The institution offers 6 certificates, 13 associate, 22 baccalaureate, and 13 graduate degrees.[21] The university also offers the Board of Regents' engineering transfer program and a dual degree program with the Georgia Institute of Technology, one of the top engineering schools in the nation. The Holley Institute summer program, which consists of an intense four weeks of study to help high school students improve low SAT scores and gain admission to college, has a near 100 percent success rate and has received praise from the state Board of Regents.
Campuses
Albany State University East campus (Main) is located at 504 College Drive, 206 acres east of the Flint River. It has 32 buildings and five sport facilities.
Albany State University West campus (formerly Darton State College) is located at 2400 Gillionville Road, on 186 acres in West Albany. It has 16 buildings and five sport facilities. It is the site of the Darton College of Health Professions.
ASU also has a center in Cordele and provides specific courses at sites in Cairo, Waycross, Thomasville, Swainsboro, and Sandersville.
Demographics
Albany State University student body consists of both traditional and non-traditional students who number nearly 6,500 on campus. These students come primarily from Atlanta and Southwest and Central Georgia. The average student age is 24, and about 40 percent of the students live in on-campus housing.[22] In fall 2023, 74.5% of the enrolled students were female, with 1,682 males and 4,917 females out of the total of 6,599, while 4.2% were Hispanic/Latino (of any race), .2% American Indian or Alaska Native, .5% Asian, 80.9% Black/African American, and 7.6% White.[23]
There are over 60 clubs and organizations including bands, choirs, religious groups, honor societies, several Greek and honor sororities and fraternities, and ROTC.
Fraternities and Sororities
All nine of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations currently have chapters at Albany State University. Also there are currently two national service fraternities and sororities and three Greek music organizations at Albany State University.
Marching Rams Show Band
Albany State's marching band participated in the 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 Honda Battle of the Bands (HBOB). Also, The Marching Rams Show Band participated in the 2016 Tournament of Roses Parade and Tournament of Roses Bandfest.
Albany State's marching band danceline is named the "Golden Passionettes". In 2012, the danceline was invited to appear in the "Give It 2 U" music video and a live televised performance with artists Robin Thicke, Kendrick Lamar, and 2 Chainz.[25]
Albany State University holds membership in NCAA Division II (as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and participates in the following sports: football, basketball, baseball, golf, cheerleading, volleyball, cross-country and track and field.[26] Additionally, in 2019 ASU's women soccer team began competing in the Peach Belt Conference.
Swimming
Albany State sponsored men's and women's swimming, and diving teams, which in past years were named National Black College Swimming and Diving Champions in 1979 and 1980.
This is a list of notable alumni which includes graduates, non-graduate former students of Albany State University. It also reflects those alumni who attended and/or graduated from the institution under its prior historical names.
Internationally recognized literacy scholar; Distinguished Professor of Language & Literacy at Michigan State; first African American president of the International Literacy Association
Author and leading scholar on racial equality in higher education; professor, founder and former Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equality in Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Founder and executive director of USC Race and Equity Center at the University of Southern California
Former Powerlifter who competed in the International Powerlifting Federation and won five world bench press titles; offensive lineman for the 1985 SIAC Conference Championship football team
Dorothy Cowser Yancy – History instructor at Albany State College (1965–1967); later became first African American full professor at Georgia Tech and president of two HBCUs
Joseph Winthrop Holley – Founder and first president of Albany State University (1903–1943)
Elmer Imes – Physicist; taught mathematics and physics at Georgia Normal & Agricultural Institute (Now Albany State University); second African American to earn a Ph.D. in physics and a pioneer of molecular spectroscopy
Robert Owens (composer) – Composer and pianist; taught music at Albany State College (1957–1959); set Langston Hughes’ poetry to music and later gained international recognition as a composer and actor
Jeanne L. Noble – Albany native; taught at Albany State College before becoming a pioneering educator, author, and professor who advised multiple U.S. presidents
Anne Pruitt-Logan – Ceramic artist and educator; served as an art professor at Albany State University in the 1960s
Mamie B. Reese – Associate Professor Emerita of Education; Dean of Women and faculty member at Albany State University from 1948 to 1973
Howard Emery Wright – Social psychologist and educator; served as principal of Albany State’s Campus Laboratory School (1933–1934) and later held academic leadership roles including President of Allen University and Director of Social Sciences at Hampton Institute
Notes
↑ The percentage of students who received an income-based federal Pell grant intended for low-income students.
↑ The percentage of students who are a part of the American middle class at the bare minimum.
↑ "Albany State University". Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Archived from the original on January 2, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
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