ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Montgomery, Ala., U.S. Although the school is open to students of all races, the enrollment is predominantly black, and the curriculum includes the study of African-American culture and experience. Alabama State offers bachelor's degrees in business management and administration, education, and the arts and sciences. Master's degree programs in education, music, history, humanities, and criminology are also available. Total enrollment is about 5,600. Alabama State University began in 1866 as the Lincoln Normal School, a private school for African-Americans in Marion. In 1874 the school was reorganized as a state-supported college. It moved to Montgomery in 1887. After years of steady growth and a series of name changes, Alabama State achieved university status in 1969. Among its graduates was civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy, cofounder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).