Mississippi Valley State University
Encyclopedia
Mississippi Valley State University (commonly referred to as MVSU or "The Valley") is a historically black university
located in Itta Bena
, Mississippi
, in the United States
. MVSU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
.
as Mississippi Vocational College. The legislature anticipated that legal segregation of public education was in danger (and would in four years be declared unconstitutional in the United States Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education
the institution, hoping that its existence would draw African-American applicants who might have otherwise applied to attend Mississippi's premier whites-only institutions—the University of Mississippi
, Mississippi State University
, and the University of Southern Mississippi. Creating separate institutions of higher learning for Mississippi's black population, the state's political leaders hoped, would help ease the pressure to integrate the state's premier universities. To attract the support of those who opposed any government action to provide higher education to blacks, those proposing creation of M.V.C. used the term "vocational" to imply that the institution's main purpose would be to train blacks to take on blue-collar jobs.
The original legislative proposal would have located M.V.C. in Greenwood
, but the white leadership of that city did not like the idea of hosting an institution that would attract young, ambitious blacks to the area. Thus, the proposed site was moved to Itta Bena
. Even that town, however, objected to too close a proximity of a black institution, so the final site was chosen to place the college away from the downtown area, on cheap, uncultivatable land.
In 1964, Mississippi Vocational College was renamed Mississippi Valley State College.
In 1970, a student boycott was organized to protest President White's administration of the institution. Half the enrolled students of the institution—about 900—were arrested. However, White was ousted as president soon afterward.
In the early 1970s, civil rights
leaders continued to protest the inequalities in higher education opportunities offered to whites and blacks in Mississippi. In an effort to defuse some of the criticism, Gov. [William Waller] proposed changing the names of three black institutions from "colleges" to "universities." Thus, in 1974, the institution was renamed again, as Mississippi Valley State University.
In 1998, the university renamed many of the buildings on campus, except for the ones named after Sillers, Wright, and J. H. White.
. Their nickname is the Delta Devil
s for men's teams and Devilettes for women's teams. MVSU sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football
) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference
(SWAC). Famous alumni include NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice
of the 1984 football team
.
The Mississippi Valley State University Department of Athletics currently sponsors men's intercollegiate baseball, football, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis and track along with Women's Intercollegiate basketball, soccer, volleyball, cross country, golf, softball, bowling and track.
33.5125597°N 90.3424215°W
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
located in Itta Bena
Itta Bena, Mississippi
Itta Bena is a city in Leflore County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,208 at the 2000 census. The town's name is derived from the Choctaw phrase iti bina, meaning "forest camp"...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. MVSU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund , named for the U.S. Supreme Court's first African-American Justice, was established in 1987. TMCF supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending 47-member schools, which include public Historically Black Colleges & Universities and Predominantly Black...
.
History
The institution, which opened in 1950, was created by the Mississippi LegislatureMississippi Legislature
The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi Senate, with 52 members. Both Representatives and Senators serve four-year...
as Mississippi Vocational College. The legislature anticipated that legal segregation of public education was in danger (and would in four years be declared unconstitutional in the United States Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
the institution, hoping that its existence would draw African-American applicants who might have otherwise applied to attend Mississippi's premier whites-only institutions—the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
, Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
, and the University of Southern Mississippi. Creating separate institutions of higher learning for Mississippi's black population, the state's political leaders hoped, would help ease the pressure to integrate the state's premier universities. To attract the support of those who opposed any government action to provide higher education to blacks, those proposing creation of M.V.C. used the term "vocational" to imply that the institution's main purpose would be to train blacks to take on blue-collar jobs.
The original legislative proposal would have located M.V.C. in Greenwood
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...
, but the white leadership of that city did not like the idea of hosting an institution that would attract young, ambitious blacks to the area. Thus, the proposed site was moved to Itta Bena
Itta Bena, Mississippi
Itta Bena is a city in Leflore County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,208 at the 2000 census. The town's name is derived from the Choctaw phrase iti bina, meaning "forest camp"...
. Even that town, however, objected to too close a proximity of a black institution, so the final site was chosen to place the college away from the downtown area, on cheap, uncultivatable land.
In 1964, Mississippi Vocational College was renamed Mississippi Valley State College.
In 1970, a student boycott was organized to protest President White's administration of the institution. Half the enrolled students of the institution—about 900—were arrested. However, White was ousted as president soon afterward.
In the early 1970s, civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leaders continued to protest the inequalities in higher education opportunities offered to whites and blacks in Mississippi. In an effort to defuse some of the criticism, Gov. [William Waller] proposed changing the names of three black institutions from "colleges" to "universities." Thus, in 1974, the institution was renamed again, as Mississippi Valley State University.
In 1998, the university renamed many of the buildings on campus, except for the ones named after Sillers, Wright, and J. H. White.
Student Activities
Activities include theater, orchestra, and band. Students may work on the Delvian (yearbook) or the Delta Devil Gazette (student-run newspaper). Leadership opportunities are found in the Student Government Association (SGA) or other organizations such as English Club, Future Teachers of America, and Trades and Industries Club.NPHC Greek-letter organizations
- Alpha Kappa AlphaAlpha Kappa AlphaAlpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
sorority, Epsilon Pi chapter - Alpha Phi AlphaAlpha Phi AlphaAlpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity, Zeta Phi chapter - Delta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
sorority, Eta Alpha chapter - Iota Phi Theta fraternity, Eta Kappa chapter
- Kappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
fraternity, Zeta Zeta chapter - Omega Psi PhiOmega Psi PhiOmega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos...
fraternity, Beta Theta chapter - Phi Beta SigmaPhi Beta SigmaPhi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
fraternity, Delta Phi chapter - Sigma Gamma RhoSigma Gamma RhoSigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...
sorority, Kappa Chi chapter - Zeta Phi BetaZeta Phi BetaZeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...
sorority, Psi Gamma chapter
Non-NPHC Greek-letter organizations
- Alpha Phi OmegaAlpha Phi OmegaAlpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...
service fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Phi chapter - Gamma Sigma SigmaGamma Sigma SigmaGamma Sigma Sigma is a national service sorority founded in October 1952 at Beekman Tower in New York City by representatives of Boston University, Brooklyn College, Drexel Institute of Technology, Los Angeles City College, New York University, Queens College, and the University of Houston. ...
service sorority, Zeta Psi chapter - Alpha Phi SigmaAlpha Phi SigmaAlpha Phi Sigma is the only Criminal Justice Honor Society accredited by the Association of College Honor Societies. Traditionally a national organization serving United States universities, recent expansion into Canadian universities has distinguished Alpha Phi Sigma as an international honor...
national criminal justice honor society, Zeta Tau chapter.
Curriculum
Mississippi Valley State University has academic programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. There are 2 colleges: the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Education and Professional Studies, and a Graduate School.Tuition
2011 Tuition per Semester: $2465.52 (off campus, in-state); $6036.48 (off campus, out-of-state); Room and board: $5234.02 (resident); $8804.98 (non-resident).Athletics
MVSU's colors are forest green and whiteWhite
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
. Their nickname is the Delta Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
s for men's teams and Devilettes for women's teams. MVSU sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference
Southwestern Athletic Conference
The Southwestern Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black universities in the Southern United States...
(SWAC). Famous alumni include NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
of the 1984 football team
1984 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team
The 1984 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils team represented the Mississippi Valley State University in the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA college football season. Its head coach was Archie Cooley.-Regular season:...
.
The Mississippi Valley State University Department of Athletics currently sponsors men's intercollegiate baseball, football, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis and track along with Women's Intercollegiate basketball, soccer, volleyball, cross country, golf, softball, bowling and track.
Notable alumni
External links
- www.mvsu.edu — Official web site
33.5125597°N 90.3424215°W