My first Magazine | Page 4

THE UNIVERSITY

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rambling State University opened on November 1 , 1901 as the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School . It was founded by the North Louisiana Colored Agriculture Relief Association , organized in 1896 by a group of African-American farmers who wanted to organize and operate a school for African Americans in their region of the state . In response to the Association ’ s request for assistance , Tuskegee Institute ’ s Booker T . Washington sent Charles P . Adams to help the group organize an industrial school . Adams became its founding president .
In 1905 , the school moved to its present location and was renamed the North Louisiana Agricultural and Industrial School . By 1928 , after becoming a state junior college and being renamed the Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute , the school began to award two-year professional certificates and diplomas . In 1936 , the curriculum emphasis shifted to rural teacher education ; students were able to receive professional teaching certificates after completing a third academic year . The first baccalaureate degree was awarded in1944 , in elementary education .
In 1946 , the school became Grambling College , named after P . G . Grambling , the white sawmill owner who had donated the parcel of land where the school was constructed . In addition to elementary educators , Grambling prepared secondary teachers and added curricula in sciences , liberal arts and business , transforming the college from a single purpose institution of teacher education into a multipurpose college . In 1949 , the college earned its first accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools .
In 1974 , the addition of graduate programs in early childhood and elementary education gave the school a new status and a new name , Grambling State University . The university expanded and prospered between1977 and 2000 . Several new academic programs were incorporated and new facilities were added to the 384-acre campus , including a business and computer science building , school of nursing , student services building , stadium , stadium support facility and an intramural sports center .
Following Founding President Charles P . Adams , who served for 35 years , Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones became the second president in 1936 . Dr . Joseph Benjamin Johnson became the third president of Grambling State University in 1977 and served in this capacity until 1991 . During that period , the university increased the number of students enrolled and its degree offerings . Several capital outlay projects were also realized under the Johnson Administration .
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