Grambling State University

"Grambling" redirects here. For the town in which this university is located, see Grambling, Louisiana.

Grambling State University
Motto	Where Everybody is Somebody
Established	1901
Type	Public, HBCU
Endowment	$118.9 million
President	Dr. Frank Pogue
Students	4,994[1]
Location	Grambling, Louisiana, United States 32°31′31″N 92°42′55″W / 32.5252°N 92.7153°W / 32.5252; -92.7153Coordinates: 32°31′31″N 92°42′55″W / 32.5252°N 92.7153°W / 32.5252; -92.7153
Campus	Rural
Former names	Colored Industrial and Agricultural School North Louisiana Agricultural and Industrial School Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute Grambling College
Colors	Black and Gold
Athletics	NCAA Div. 1 FCS
Nickname	Tigers or Lady Tigers
Affiliations	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Website	www.gram.edu

Long-Jones Hall at Grambling State University

The President's Home at Grambling State University is particularly elegant and stately.

Favrot Student Building at Grambling

Charles P. Adams Hall

Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center

Grambling State University is a historically black (HBCU), public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.

Grambling State University campus in Grambling in Lincoln Parish west of Ruston, Louisiana

Academics

Grambling State University (GSU) provides over 800 courses, and nearly 70 degree programs. Known for its excellent academic programs in Nursing, Computer Science, and teacher education, GSU is a member of the University of Louisiana System (ULS), and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

GSU offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as certifications in five colleges and schools: College of Business, College of Education; College of Arts & Sciences, College of Professional Studies, and, School of Graduate Studies & Research. The College of Business is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, offering programs in accounting, marketing, management, economics, and computer information systems. The College of Education is the oldest college at GSU. The programs offered prepare students for employment in preschool through 12th grade, as well as higher education if desired. GSU is the only university in the nation which offers a doctorate in developmental education. The College of Arts & Sciences consists of 14 academic departments, offering both associate degree programs, as well as bachelor degree programs. The College of Professional Studies includes two academic departments—Mass Communication, and Criminal Justice & Paralegal Studies, and two schools: the School of Nursing, and the School of Social Work. The School of Graduate Studies & Research offers several master and doctoral degree programs. Within this program, students may also apply for graduate assistantships.

In addition, GSU offers distance learning, which is part of the Continuing Education and Special Programs division. The university uses Blackboard for its online learning system and provides web-based courses with supplemental materials. All interaction is via email and Blackboard. Students work at their own pace, however, they must follow the course syllabus and meet all deadlines by the end of the semester.^[2]

Read more: Grambling State University Information, Academics, Admissions, Financial Aid, Students, Athletics, Alumni, History, Campus, Students, Faculty, Address, and Tuition http://www.stateuniversity.com/universities/LA/Grambling_State_University.html#ixzz16a5CRSkb

Read more: Grambling State University Information, Academics, Admissions, Financial Aid, Students, Athletics, Alumni, History, Campus, Students, Faculty, Address, and Tuition http://www.stateuniversity.com/universities/LA/Grambling_State_University.html#ixzz16a4bObkQ

History

Bust of Charles P. Adams, the founder and first president of Grambling State University

Grambling State was founded in 1901 and accredited in 1949. The school became Grambling College in 1946 named after a sawmill owner, P.G. Grambling, who donated a parcel of land for the school to be constructed. With the addition of graduate departments, Grambling gained university status in 1974. Grambling State University emerged from the desire of African-American farmers in rural north Louisiana who wanted to educate other African Americans in the northern part of the state. In 1896, the North Louisiana Colored Agriculture Relief Association was formed to organize and operate a school. After opening a small school west of what is now the town of Grambling, the Association requested assistance from Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Charles P. Adams, sent to aid the group in organizing an industrial school, became its founder and first president.

Under Adams’ leadership, the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School opened on November 1, 1901. Four years later, the school moved to its present location and was renamed the North Louisiana Agricultural and Industrial School. By 1928, the school was able to offer two-year professional certificates and diplomas after becoming a state junior college. The school was renamed Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute.

In 1936, the program was reorganized to emphasize rural education. It became known as "The Louisiana Plan" or "A Venture in Rural Teacher Education." Professional teaching certificates were awarded when a third year was added in 1936, and the first baccalaureate degree was awarded in 1944 in elementary education. The institution’s name was changed to Grambling College in 1946 in honor of a white sawmill owner, P.G. Grambling, who donated a parcel of land for the school. Thereafter, the college prepared secondary teachers and added curricula in sciences, liberal arts and business. With these programs in effect, the school was transformed from a single purpose institution of teacher education into a multipurpose college. In 1949, the college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The Grambling science building is one of twenty-six public structures in Louisiana constructed by the contractor George A. Caldwell.^[3] 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.

From 1977 to 2000, the university grew and prospered. Several new academic programs were incorporated and new facilities were added to the 384-acre (1.55 km²) campus, including a business and computer science building, school of nursing, student services building, stadium, stadium support facility and an intramural sports center. In 2006, Grambling State was the setting for the Black Entertainment Television network docudrama "Season of the Tiger," which chronicled the daily lives of members of the football team and marching band throughout the 2005 season.

State Representative George B. Holstead of Ruston, whose grandfather had been instrumental in the founding of Louisiana Tech, worked to increase state appropriations for both Louisiana Tech and Grambling State University during his legislative tenure from 1964-1980.^[4]

In 2010, a state audit showed that GSU lost money on an illegal stock purchase and was in violation of two state laws. State Representative Francis C. Thompson, a Delhi Democrat, urged the state to conduct financial oversight at Grambling and at other institutions in view of the audit.^[5] The audit claims that GSU illegally invested $2.6 million in the stock market with money that had been reserved for university facilities. Thompson said that the state should "develop a safety net if something can fall through the cracks like this."^[5]

University presidents

Following the first university president Charles P. Adams, Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones became the second president and the highly successful baseball coach from 1936 until his retirement in 1977. Five presidents served from 1977 to 2001: Dr. Joseph Benjamin Johnson, Dr. Harold W. Lundy, Dr. Raymond Hicks, Dr. Leonard Haynes III and Dr. Steve A. Favors. The advent of a new millennium and the beginning of a second century of service ushered in Grambling State University’s first female president, Dr. Neari Francois Warner. Warner served a three-year interim term. Dr. Horace Judson, who became the institution’s seventh president in 2004, led the most ambitious 5-year campaign to rebuild the institution's facilities. On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, Judson announced his resignation effective October 31, 2009. The current president is Frank Pogue.

Student activities

Athletics

Main article: Grambling Tigers

The "Tiger" at the entrance to Grambling State University

The Grambling Tigers represent Grambling State University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Grambling's sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Currently, the Grambling State University Department of Athletics sponsors Men's Intercollegiate football, along with men's and women's basketball, baseball, track & field, softball, golf, soccer, tennis, bowling and volleyball.

Tiger Marching Band

• In 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton performed with the band for a halftime show in Grambling, Louisiana.
• The Tiger Marching Band have an average of 125 students with a grade points average of 3.00 or more each year.
• In 1999, much to the anger of the alumni, the Tiger Marching Band along with GSU's female dance troupe "The Orchesis Dance Company" was featured in a nationally televised commercial as part of Procter & Gamble's "Tampax Was There" marketing campaign.
• In 1999, the band was featured in commercial bumpers for Cartoon Network's "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays" block. They performed the main Cartoon Cartoons theme, as well as the theme songs for other Cartoon Network shows.
• In 1998, the band was featured in Super Bowl XXXII, alongside Boyz II Men, Martha Reeves, and Smokey Robinson.
• In 1981, the band appeared in "Marching Band/Coke Is It," an award-winning commercial developed for Coca-Cola USA.
• The band performed in the Hollywood films Grambling's White Tiger (1981), and Drumline (2002).
• In 2006, Season of the Tiger is a six part docudrama that follows members of the Grambling State University (LA) marching band and football team during the 2005-2006 football season. Produced by DAFT films and Black Entertainment Television (BET), Season of the Tiger premiered on April 27, 2006 at 9:30 p.m. The subsequent episodes were shown at the same Thursday time slot for the following five weeks. In documentary style, the show focuses on the lives of three band members and two football players as they try to fulfill their potential, despite the setbacks they encounter along the way. Season of the Tiger is the second BET reality show to focus on life at a historically black institution (HBCU) (see College Hill), and the first to highlight the competitive environment of marching bands at some HBCUs. Grambling State standout starting quarterback and NFL prospect Bruce Eugene is among the many featured in the docudrama.
• In the 118th Tournament of Roses Parade (2007), Grambling State's marching band was the marching band in the Star Wars Spectacular, in which all members were wearing Imperial officer uniforms. This was the band's second time in the Tournament of Roses Parade: 1980 being the first time an HBCU band was selected to march and lead in the Tournament of Roses Parade.
• The band was included in the inaugural parade for U.S. President George W. Bush.
• Along with the band directors there are many different student leaders that contribute to the success and order of the band. They are members of distinct organizations, Phi Mu Alpha (Professional Music Fraternity For Men, 1898), Kappa Kappa Psi (National Band Honor Fraternity, 1919), Tau Beta Sigma (National Band Honor Sorority, 1946), and Silver Dogs, Inc. (Prestigious Campus Brotherhood, 1945).
• In 2009, the band was included in the inaugural parade for U.S. President Barack Obama.^{[citation needed]}

In 1991 The Band performed a stunning half time show turning off all the lights in the home stadium, performing with small flash lights on their shoes

Notable Alumni

Main article: List of Grambling State University alumni

Alumni of Grambling State include numerous MLB, NBA, NFL players and artists. -Willie Brown, Green Bay Packers: NFL Hall of Fame Eight-time Mr. Olympia winner Ronnie Coleman is a noted alumni as well as actress Natalie Desselle-Reid. Grammy-winner Erykah Badu attended Grambling State University and once served as a campus Queen, although she began concentrating on music full-time and left the university before graduating. New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow is also an alumni. Alumnus Pinkie C. Wilkerson, served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992 until her death in an automobile accident on August 1, 2000. SFormer NFL quarterback and Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams, is not only an alumni, but currently serves as the Tigers head football coach. West coast bay area rap artist E-40 also attended Grambling State University. Grambling State University graduate, Stephanie Finleyhad, was nominated as U.S. Attorney for Louisiana's Western District by President Barack Obama. Award winning and world renowned jazz artist Michael Thomas is a Grambling alumni and he was a member of the Tiger Marching Band along with jazz artists Lovett Hines and Bob French. The writer Judi-Ann Mason was a double major graduate of Grambling. She began her writing career at Grambling by winning 2 major playwrighting awards through the American College Theatre Festival. As a sophomore her first full length play " Livin' Fat" won the first Norman Lear award. In her senior year lightening struck again when her script "A Star Aint Nothin But a Hole in Heaven' won the first Lorraine Hansberry award. As part of the prize She worked several years with the Lear organization writing for 'Good Times' She later was the head writer for the Black soap 'Generations'. Mason went on to pen the screenplay for Whoopi Goldberg's hit movie 'Sister Act II'. Judi passed away in 2009 at the age of 54.

References

1. ^ http://www.gram.edu/life/news/?p=16
2. ^ http://www.stateuniversity.com/universities/LA/Grambling_State_University.html
3. ^ "Caldwell, George A.". Louisiana Historical Association, A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography (lahistory.org). http://www.lahistory.org/site20.php. Retrieved December 21, 2010. 
4. ^ "Descendants of Lemuel Holstead". freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. http://74.125.45.132/search?=cache:eVIj7R5RyuMJ:freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~halstead/lemuel/d1.html+George+B.+Holstead,+Jr.&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us. Retrieved April 25, 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Stephen Largen, Thompson: State should look at Grambling State, Lawmakers call for safety net to catch problems, July 1, 2010". Monroe News Star. http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100701/NEWS01/7010325/1002/Thompson++State+should+look+at+GSU. Retrieved July 12, 2010. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• www.gram.edu -- Official web site
• www.gsutigers.com -- Official athletics web site
• www.gram.edu/band/ -- Tiger Marching Band web site