}
Fort Valley State University (FVSU, formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
land-grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
historically black university
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...
in
Fort Valley, Georgia
Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, Peach County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780.
The city is in the Warner Robi ...
. It is part of the
University System of Georgia
The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates gene ...
and a member-school of the
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is an American non-profit organization that supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending its 47 member-schools that include public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), medic ...
.
Fort Valley State University is the state's 1890 land-grant university and enrolls over 2,500 students. Approximately 90% of the student body is of African-American descent. The average age of undergraduates is 24 and the average age of graduate students is 33. Roughly one-third of the students live on the campus and 85% of the student body are full-time students. The university is located in the town of Fort Valley in
Peach County, the original site of the state's
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
industry. Its 1,365-acre (5.52 km
2) campus is Georgia's second-largest public university in area.
History
Fort Valley State University (formerly Fort Valley State College) began with the 1939 consolidation of the Fort Valley High and Industrial School (chartered in 1895) and the State Teachers and Agricultural College of Forsyth (founded in 1902). The Fort Valley High and Industrial School, previously affiliated with the American Church Institute of the
Protestant Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...
, was transferred to state control and operation. Under the agreement, the work formerly carried on at the State Teachers and Agricultural College was consolidated with the work at Fort Valley High and Industrial School to form the Fort Valley State College.
In 1947 the state
Board of Regents
In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual c ...
adopted a resolution moving the "
land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
" designation from
Savannah State College
)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public historically black university
, parent = University System of Georgia
, academic_affiliation = Space-grant
, endowment ...
to Fort Valley State College. In response to the Regents' resolution, in 1949 the Georgia General Assembly officially designated the Fort Valley State College as the Land-Grant College for Negroes in Georgia. Public education was segregated at that time.
The school became Fort Valley State University, a state and land-grant university, in June 1996, and is the second largest land-grant institution.
Presidents
The president of Fort Valley State University is the chief executive officer of the university, similar to a
chancellor or
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
at other American
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
s and
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
. Dr. Paul Jones has held the position since December 2015.
Academics
Fort Valley State University offers
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
s in more than 50 majors, as well as
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. s in several fields of study. FVSU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award associate, baccalaureate, master's and specialist degrees.
Accredited degree programs include:
*Teacher Education degree programs which are accredited by the
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
* The Veterinary Technology Program, accredited by the
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
* The Family and Consumer Sciences Program, accredited by the
American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) is an American professional association that networks professionals in the area of family and consumer science. It was founded in 1908 as the American Home Economics Association by Elle ...
* The Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD), accredited by the
Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education
Commission or commissioning may refer to:
Business and contracting
* Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered
** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of another ...
(CADE) of the
American Dietetic Association
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is a 501(c)(6) trade association in the United States. With over 112,000 members, the association claims to be the largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. It has registered dietitian nut ...
* The Child Development programs, accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Development Programs of the
National Association for the Education of Young Children
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a large nonprofit association in the United States representing early childhood education teachers, para-educators, center directors, trainers, college educators, families o ...
(NAEYC)
* Rehabilitation Counseling and Case Management accredited by the
Council on Rehabilitation Education
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
(CORE)
The university also offers the Cooperative Developmental Energy Program (CDEP) which provides an opportunity for qualified students to receive a
STEM degree from FVSU and an
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin, Pennsylvania State University, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, or University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley.
The university's honors program is a selective undergraduate program designed to cater to high-achieving students.
Outreach services include Fort Valley State's
Cooperative Extension Service Program, where extension service specialists operate in 42
Georgia counties, and the Pettigrew Conference Center, which hosts more than 500 courses and events for 51,000 patrons each year. In an effort to accommodate graduate and
non-traditional student
A nontraditional student is a term originating in North America, that refers to a category of students at colleges and universities.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) notes that there are varying definitions of nontraditional s ...
s, external degree program courses are also being offered at off-campus sites in
Macon,
Cochran,
Warner Robins and
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
. The university offers online courses via
WebCT
WebCT (Course Tools) or Blackboard Learning System, now owned by Blackboard, is an online proprietary virtual learning environment system that is licensed to colleges and other institutions and used in many campuses for e-learning. To their WebC ...
, which allows students to pursue a number of majors and programs from home.
College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences, the oldest and the largest college at FVSU, houses 12 academic units and offers nearly 80 percent of the courses taught at FVSU. The college services the University System of Georgia's Academic Core and provides 20 undergraduate major fields of study. The Department of Business Administration and Economics is the largest academic department in the College of Arts and Sciences, and is an accredited member of the
Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
College of Education
The College of Education is an educator preparation program offering degrees in Middle Grades Education, undergraduate and graduate; Agriculture Education, undergraduate and post-baccalaureate; Early Childhood / Special Education undergraduate; School Counseling; Early Childhood / Special Education graduate; Health and Physical Education; Family and Consumer Sciences Education; and an MAT degree in the secondary teaching areas.
College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology
The College of Agriculture, Home Economics & Allied Programs is ranked 25th nationally in the production of African American agriculturists and the university's leader in placing first-time applicants into medical, dental, veterinary and pharmacy schools and colleges since 2001. The college has laboratories in the state, and scientists are securing grant funds and conducting cutting-edge research.
Campus
Pettigrew Center
Named in honor of the late former President Dr. C.W. Pettigrew who served from 1973 to 1980, the C.W. Pettigrew Farm and Community Life Center is a full-service conference, convention, and fine arts facility where events are held by both internal and external sources. This faculty is often used for outreach programs for members of Fort Valley State University and by personnel throughout the region.
Anderson Museum and Welcome Center
The Anderson House is Fort Valley State University's oldest building and houses the Biggs Collection. The Museum and Welcome Center is located on the corner of University Drive and Wright Street, across from Saint Luke Episcopal Church. The center provides an official reception area for visitors to the university.
Anderson House
Anderson House was the residence of F.W. Gano, one of the university's founders. It is the oldest facility on campus. Fort Valley State University historian Dr. Donnie Bellamey places the building's construction in the late 19th century. This colonial Dutch revival style was a popular architectural design for rural cottages of that era.
The house was renovated in 1918 and served as the family home for principal Henry A. Hunt, President Horace Mann Bond, and President Cornelius V. Troup. It was named in memory of Benjamin S. Anderson, who served as Professor of Agriculture during the institution's early years.
The main exhibits and displays come from the Biggs Collection of period furnishings, silver, glassware, china, quilts, linens and civil war memorabilia. The majority of the items date from about 1860 to 1900. The English Victorian furniture outfitted the parlor, dining room and bedrooms of an antebellum home in Box Springs, Georgia, which still stands today. The contents of the home were bequeathed by the plantation owner to Mr. Biggs' grandmother, who was a slave. The Smithsonian Institution sought to obtain the quilts and antiques for its permanent anthology of historical collectibles, according to Mr. Biggs. However, he chose to donate the entire collection to Fort Valley State University in 1991.
Student activities
FVSU students have many opportunities for extracurricular involvement at the university, including
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
intercollegiate athletics, The Blue Machine
Marching Band
A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...
,
concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
, Baptist Student Union Choir,
forensics (intercollegiate speech and debate), and
cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
. Overall, there are more than 70 clubs, social, and Greek organizations on campus.
Student media
FVSU has a radio station (WFVS-LP 104.3 FM) and a television station (FVSU TV), as well as a college newspaper, ''The Peachite''.
Athletics
Athletic opportunities include intramural sports and intercollegiate men's basketball, cross country, football, tennis, and track and field, and volleyball and women's basketball, cross country, softball, tennis, volleyball, and track and field. The school currently competes as a member of the
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black c ...
.
Alumni
*
Catherine Hardy
Catherine Hardy Lavender ( née Catherine Hardy) (February 8, 1930 – September 8, 2017) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 100-meter dash. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1952 Olympic Sum ...
References
External links
*
Fort Valley State Athletics website recordings and documents, American Memory, Library of Congress
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1895
Historically black universities and colleges in the United States
Land-grant universities and colleges
Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
1895 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Education in Peach County, Georgia
Buildings and structures in Peach County, Georgia
Public universities and colleges in Georgia (U.S. state)