Southern University's 13 intercollegiate athletics teams are known as the Jaguars, and are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in NCAA Division I. The Human Jukebox is a well known collegiate marching band that has been representing Southern University since 1947.
History
President William McKinley speaks at Southern University in New Orleans, 1901.
In 1880, the Louisiana General Assembly chartered what was then called Southern University for Colored Students, originally located in New Orleans. Southern opened its doors on March 7, 1881 with 12 students. The school was held for a time at the former Israel Sinai Temple on Calliope Street, between St. Charles and Camp streets.
In 1890, the legislature designated Southern as a land grant college for blacks, in order to continue to satisfy federal requirements under the land grant program to support higher education for all students in the state, despite having a segregated system. It established an Agricultural and Mechanical department.
The 1904 "Picayune Guide to New Orleans" described the university, then on the 5100 block of Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans, as "for the education of colored persons. Coeducation is in force here. The school is excellent and the instruction of an advanced character."[5]
For various reasons (including proximity to more rural Louisiana residents and pressure from White neighbors in the Tulane area), in 1914 the university moved to Scotlandville, an area just north of Baton Rouge along Scott's Bluff facing the Mississippi River.[6] Now absorbed into the capital, this area is included as a historic destination of the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. The first president of college after the move was Dr. Joseph Samuel Clark, an African-American leader from Baton Rouge, who previously led Baton Rouge College and the Louisiana Colored Teachers Association.
In 1921, the Louisiana Constitutional Convention authorized the reorganization and expansion of Southern University; Legislative Act 100 of 1922 provided that the institution be reorganized under the control of the State Board of Education. Clark continued to preside over Southern University during its resulting expansion. Student enrollment grew from 47 to 500, and two of the school's early buildings were built during this time.
The Southern University Laboratory School System began operating in September 1922. The Laboratory School was first accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1936 and has conferred more than 5,000 high school diplomas since its inception.[7] Clark presided until his retirement in 1938.
Clark's son Dr. Felton Grandison Clark was appointed as president that year. He had been serving as a dean at Southern since 1934. The State School for the Negro Deaf and Blind was established here in 1938, under supervision of Southern University. In 1943, the university was visited by the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. F. G. Clark generated much more expansion of the university: 33 of 114 current buildings were erected during his 30 years of tenure. The student enrollment grew from 500 to nearly 10,000 students by the end of his tenure.
Under segregated state education, LSU Law School had refused to admit Charles J. Hatfield, III, an African American college graduate who filed a lawsuit in 1946 to gain professional education in the state. A special Louisiana Convention established a law program in 1947 at Southern University; it is now known as the Southern University Law Center. F. G. Clark expanded affiliated centers for Southern University, founding Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) (1956) and Southern University at Shreveport (SUSLA) (1964). They were officially incorporated by the legislature into the Southern University System in 1974.
In 1969, Clark retired and Dr. G. Leon Netterville was selected as president. On November 16, 1972, in a second day of protests as students argued to be included in determining administration policies and decisions, Denver Smith and Leonard Brown were shot during a protest outside the Old Auditorium (now the Southern University Museum of Art). The murders have never been solved, but the students were killed with buckshot, which the sheriff's deputies were using. These two students were involved with "Students United," a student activist group. The governor and sheriff's office denied that their people were responsible for the deaths. Governor Edwin Edwards ordered the campus temporarily closed, and it was patrolled by troops to keep the peace.[8]
The institution continued to grow. In 1974, a special session in the Louisiana Legislature established the Southern University System, with Jesse N. Stone of Shreveport as its president. The system consists of Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge (SUBR); Southern University, New Orleans (SUNO); Southern University Law Center (SULC); Southern University Agricultural Center (SUAC); and Southern University, Shreveport (SUSLA). SUSLA is a two-year, commuter college.
Between 1970 and 1990, the university consistently enrolled over 10,000 students and secured the title of being the largest HBCU in the nation.[9][10][11]
Between 2004 and 2013, Southern University ranked 4th in the nation for baccalaureate-origin institution of black male doctorate recipients.[12]
In 2021, Southern attained the R2 Carnegie Classification (Doctoral University; High Research Activity). Southern is one of only 11 HBCUs to be granted R2 status and the first HBCU in Louisiana in this category.[13]
There are six degree-granting colleges and a law school on campus:
College of Education, Arts, and Humanities
College of Business
College of Sciences and Engineering
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
College of Sciences and Agriculture
College of Nursing and Allied Health
Southern University Law Center
The Southern University Law Center is one of only two public law schools in Louisiana. The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association and was established in 1947. The law school has approximately 700 full-time and part-time students and operates as an independent entity.[16]
Southern University is the first Louisiana institution to offer degrees in philanthropic studies.[17]
In 2023, the College of Nursing and Allied Health won Louisiana's nursing school of the year award given by the Louisiana Nursing Foundation for the sixth time. The college is one of only two in Louisiana to offer a PhD in Nursing and is the largest producer of African Americans with Master of Science in Nursing degrees in the nation.[18]
Southern University is the only HBCU and one of six public universities in Louisiana with an engineering program.
Southern University has nationally recognized Army and Navy ROTC programs.[19][20]
The Dolores Spikes Honors College is a selective non degree-granting college specifically established to provide an enhanced educational experience for undergraduates with strong academic achievements and intellectual ability. The college is named after Southern University graduate and only woman president of the institution, Dr. Dolores Richard Spikes.[21]
Lake Kernan flows through the center of the campus and the Mississippi River forms its western boundary. Since 1960, buildings containing more than 2,000,000 square feet of floor area have been constructed. The campus is often affectionately referred to as "The Bluff."[22]
Southern University has eight on-campus residence halls (four males-only, two females-only, and two co-ed).[23]
Smith-Brown Memorial Union
The Smith-Brown Memorial Union, a 66,200-square feet multipurpose building which serves as a major center for extracurricular activities. The recently renovated Union features a six food court with popular food outlets; barber and beauty shops; television rooms; 12 bowling lanes; a game room for billiards, video games, and quiet games; an art gallery; a browsing room; a ballroom, meeting and conference rooms; and a U.S. post office. The building also houses offices for student organizations.
The John B. Cade Library is a 154,000 square foot edifice named after the John Brother Cade, the first principal of Southern University Laboratory School. The library contains over a million volumes, nearly 2,000 journal subscriptions, 600,000 microforms and 1,800 recordings. The library houses the Camille Shade African-American Heritage Collection on the 3rd floor.[24][25]
The F.G. Clark Activity Center has accommodations for theater, athletic events, conferences, convocations and recreational activities. The building houses the Athletic Department.
The J.S. Clark Administration Building contains the offices of the Southern University Board of Supervisors, the Southern University System officers, the President-Chancellor of the Baton Rouge campus, and other campus administrative officers.
E.N. Mayberry Dining Hall contains the Magnolia Room, the Cypress Room and the Oak Room, which is for student dining. Dunn Cafeteria is in the Freshman Complex.[26]
Student demographics
As of fall 2022, there were 6,470 undergraduate students and 1,756 graduate students. 66% of students were female and 34% male. 70% of students were from Louisiana; East Baton Rouge Parish, Orleans Parish, and Rapides Parish were the top three feeder parishes. The top three feeder states for out-of-state students were Texas (647 students), Georgia (235 students), and California (202 students). There were 245 students from a foreign country. Approximately 82% of SU students identified as Black and 18% identified as non-Black.[2]
The Southern Jaguars and Lady Jaguars represent the university in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Southern's sports teams participate in Division I (FCS for football) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). For more than 20 years, NBC has provided live coverage of Southern University's football game, the Bayou Classic, against its northern Louisiana SWAC rival, Grambling State University.
The Southern University marching band, better known as the Human Jukebox, has been featured in numerous television commercials, music videos and has been invited to participate in the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, Presidential Inauguration ceremonies and six Super Bowl halftime presentations. The band was also featured in the music videos for the Jonas Brothers song, "Pom Poms" and for Lizzo song, "Good as Hell". In 2008, The band was named "Best Dressed Marching Band" by FashionNews.com, and named "#1 Band In The Nation" by USA Today. In 2014, the NCAA ranked the band second best in the nation.[27]
SU media
The university's weekly student produced newspaper is The Southern Digest. The award-winning newspaper was established in 1926 and operates under the Southern University Office of Media Services.[28][29] "The Bluff" is an internet radio station managed by students that offers a mixture of news, interviews, and music.[30]
Student organizations
There are nearly 150 student organizations active on campus. The organizations belong in one of the following categories: Academic, Honors Societies, Multicultural, Non-NPHC Greeks, NPHC Greeks, Political, Professional, Religious, Service, Social, Special Interest, Sports, School Spirit, and SU Royal Court.[31]
Legacy of Lacumba
This sign remains near Lacumba's campus home.
Southern University was the first HBCU to house a live exotic animal mascot on campus. Henry J. Bellaire, alumnus and president of the 1961 senior class, and alumna Helen Williams presented a baby jaguar as a gift to Southern University. The jaguar was named Lacumba (meaning "Heart of Africa") and was born on May 26, 1971. In 1991, Lacumba retired to the Acadiana Zoo in Broussard, LA and was replaced with Lacumba II. Lacumba II (commonly referred to as simply Lacumba) was born on May 12, 1991, the offspring of two rare black jaguars bred in hopes of producing a rare black jaguar. However, Lacumba II was born brown; it grew to be 200 pounds. Lacumba II died of natural causes at the age of 15 in December 2004 and was the last jaguar to live on campus. Animal rights advocates dissuaded the university from purchasing a new jaguar. The jaguar pen remains in front of the A.W. Mumford football stadium off Harding Boulevard. The legacy of Lacumba lives on through the school's costumed jaguar mascot and Cafe Lacumba on campus.[32][33][34]
Baton Rouge is the capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it had a population of 227,470 as of 2020; it is the seat of Louisiana's most populous parish (county-equivalent), East Baton Rouge Parish, and the center of Louisiana's second-largest metropolitan area and city, Greater Baton Rouge.
Louisiana State University is an American public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near Pineville, Louisiana, under the name Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy. The current LSU main campus was dedicated in 1926, consists of more than 250 buildings constructed in the style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, and the main campus historic district occupies a 650-acre (260 ha) plateau on the banks of the Mississippi River.
The Louisiana State University System is a system of public colleges and universities in Louisiana. It is budgetarily the largest public university system in the state.
Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.
Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) is a private historically black Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU and, upon the canonization of Katharine Drexel in 2000, became the first Catholic university founded by a saint.
The Bayou Classic is an annual college football classic rivalry game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars, first held under that name in 1974 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, although the series itself actually began in 1932. A trophy is awarded to the winning school.
The Louisiana School for the Deaf is a state school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Louisiana, located in Baton Rouge, the state capital. It was established in 1852 as a joint school for blind students. In 1860, its first purpose-built facility was completed and admired as an elegant monument to philanthropy. The schools were divided in 1898, and in 1908, Louisiana School for the Deaf was renamed.
The Southern University System is a system of public historically black universities in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its headquarters are at the Joseph Samuel Clark Administration Building on the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge. The Southern University System is the only historically black college system in the United States.
Southern University at New Orleans is a public historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the Southern University System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
A. W. Mumford Stadium is a 28,500-seat multi-purpose stadium on the campus of Southern University in Scotlandville, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It opened in 1928 and is home to the Southern Jaguars football and Southern University Laboratory School Kittens football teams, as well as the Southern women's soccer team. The Roscoe Moore Track located in the stadium is home to the men's and women's track and field teams.
F. G. Clark Activity Center is a 7,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that opened in 1975. It is home to two Southern University basketball teams, the Southern Jaguars and Southern Lady Jaguars. The arena also holds concerts and other events.
Southern University at Shreveport (SUSLA) is a junior college in Shreveport, Louisiana. It is part of the historically black Southern University System. The university is a member school of Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Arnett William "Ace" Mumford was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at historically black colleges and universities in Texas and Louisiana from 1924 to 1961, compiling a career college football record of 233–85–23. His head coaching positions were at Jarvis Christian College (1924–1926), Bishop College (1927–1929), Texas College (1931–1935), and Southern University (1936–1961). He has been inducted into at least eight halls of fame for his coaching accomplishments.
The Jackson State–Southern football rivalry, often informally called the BoomBox Classic, is a college football rivalry between the Tigers of Jackson State University (JSU) and the Jaguars of Southern University (SU). An annual conference game between two historically black universities in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), its location usually rotates between JSU's Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi and SU's A. W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but it has also been held at larger venues to accommodate the large crowds that the game draws. As of 2023, the Jaguars lead the series 35–33, not including two wins that Southern was ordered to vacate by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The Southern Jaguars baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. The team is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at Lee–Hines Field in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Felton Grandison Clark was an African-American academic administrator from Louisiana. He served as the president of Southern University (SU), a historically black university and land-grant college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from 1938 to 1969. During this period, he led decades of expansion that resulted in the number of students increasing from 1,500 to over 11,000. By the time of his retirement, SU had grown to be America's largest historically black university by enrollment.
Ronald Francis Mason Jr. is an American lawyer and university administrator, serving as the ninth president of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). He took office in July 2015. This is Mason's third presidential appointment. He was previously chief executive officer at the Southern University System of Louisiana (2010-2015) and Jackson State University (2000-2010). Before his administration at Jackson State, Mason held several executive appointments over a 17-year tenure at Tulane University, including general counsel, vice president for Finance and Operations and senior vice president and general counsel.
↑ Miller, R. Baxter (Fall 1984). "The Wasteland and the Flower: Through Blyden Jackson: A Revised Theory for Black Southern Literature". The Southern Literary Journal. 17 (1): 3–11. JSTOR20077746.
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