Happy Founder’s Day Prairie View A&M University

Today's blog was written by Kaitlin Rogers, Archives Technician at the National Archives at College Park

Motto: "Prairie View Produces Productive People"

On August 14th, 1876, Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth, now known as Prairie View A&M University, was established by the Texas legislature. The school was created to train Black teachers to work in the local public schools. L. W. Minor served as the first principal of the school, and on March 11th, 1878, eight young Black men started their coursework at the normal school, becoming its first cohort of teachers.

Yeoman 1st Class Felecia Owens proofreads a document in the Navy ROTC program, attends a class at Prairie View A&M University. (NAID 6465735)

The school was originally named after the Alta Vista plantation, which the board of directors purchased the land for the campus. In 1879, the school's name was changed by the Texas legislature to Prairie View State Normal School. The school struggled with financial problems in its early decades, even as it added agricultural and mechanical training programs to its offerings. In 1890, the Second Morrill Act determined that Black institutions should not be excluded from land grant funding, and Prairie View became the second land grant institution in Texas and a beneficiary of the new source of funding.

Prairie View transformed from a two year training institution into a four year senior college. In 1904, the first three students graduated with college degrees. Over the years, Prairie View continued to grow and evolve. In 1937, its division of graduate studies was established, offering masters degrees in agricultural education, agricultural economics, rural education, school administration, and rural sociology. In 1947, the school's name was changed again to Prairie View A&M College of Texas, and in 1973, the Texas Legislature implemented the school's final name change to Prairie View A&M University, and the school was officially integrated into the Texas A&M University system.

Midshipman Miles Brooks, a member of the ROTC program, solves an equation during a class at Prairie View A&M University. (NAID 6465736)

Today, Prairie View A&M University continues to be a premier R2 research university, offering 36 bachelors degrees, 31 masters degrees, and 6 doctoral degrees. Prairie View is one of the largest historically black universities within the US, enrolling nearly 9,000 students per academic year. Staying true to its roots, Prairie View is known for producing large numbers of African American engineers and architects. Prairie View A&M University has many notable alumni, including Loni Love, DJ Premier, Terry Ellis, Percy Sutton, Megan Thee Stallion, Mr. T, and Inez Beverly Prosser.

The National Archives holds several documents, photographs, and moving images that primarily relates the ROTC and NROTC programs at Prairie View A&M University. Below are a few selections:

• RG 79 Texas MPS Prairie View A&M University MPS (NAID 40970589)
• RG 330 Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files (NAID 6465732)
• RG 428 NROTC Midshipmen Prairie View A&M (NAID 86789)
• RG 540 2009 Prairie View A&M University Research Plan of Work, Date Accepted: May 2nd, 2008 (NAID 179021571)

Sources:

Bobby L. Lovett America's Historically Black Colleges & Universities: A Narrative History, 1837-2009 (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2015).

"College History", Prairie View A&M University, Accessed 8/13/2024, https://www.pvamu.edu/about_pvamu/college-history/

Woolfold, George R. "Prairie View A&M University". Texas State Historical Association. Revised September 24th, 2020. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/prairie-view-a-m-university

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