INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University, which first opened its doors in March 1891, is celebrating its 120th academic year this 2010-2011 school yearThe Institute school, which now has more than 5,200 students and more than 80 academic programs, has experienced four name changes, a changing student population and an ever-growing faculty and curriculum.
Charles Byers, West Virginia State’s vice president of academic affairs and a 1968 alumnus, said he considers the university the Mountain State’s “best-kept secret.”
“I think citizens of West Virginia probably do not understand the unique history of West Virginia State,” he said. “We’re trying to let the people of West Virginia know about this institution.”
The West Virginia Legislature founded the university on March 17, 1891, as the West Virginia Colored Institute. Under the Morrill Act of 1890, the federal government granted $10,000 to cover a land purchase and construction costs and $3,000 for faculty salaries.
The 1890 act was an expansion of the original Morrill Act of 1862, aimed at forming higher learning institutions focused on science, engineering and agriculture.
Byers said then-governor Aretas B. Fleming considered several sites when scouting land for the school. He considered a parcel of land in South Charleston where the Tech Park now stands and property in the St. Albans’ College Hill area.
Fleming eventually settled on the Institute site. It was then known as “Farm,” because it was level and featured easy rail and river access for students and faculty, Byers said.
