ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Lorman, Miss., U.S. It is a land-grant university consisting of schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Psychology, Nursing, and Agriculture and Applied Science. The university's School of Nursing is located in Natchez. In addition to undergraduate studies, Alcorn State offers master's degree programs in education and agriculture. The student population is predominantly African-American; total enrollment is approximately 2,900. The history of the university began in 1830 with the establishment of Oakland College, a Presbyterian college for white male students. The college, closed during the American Civil War, was unable to reopen after the war's conclusion, and it was sold to the state as an institution for the instruction of black students, founded in 1871 as Alcorn University. Hiram R. Revels, the first African-American to serve in the U.S. Senate, was the university's first president. In 1878 the university was made a land-grant institution, and the name was changed to Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. Women were first admitted in 1903. The name was changed to Alcorn State University in 1974. Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was a graduate of Alcorn State.