TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY

Tuskegee University is an independent and state-related institution of higher education. Its programs serve a student body that is coeducational as well as racially, ethnically and religiously diverse. With a strong orientation toward disciplines which highlight the relationship between education and work force preparation in the sciences, professions and technical areas, Tuskegee University also emphasizes the importance of the liberal arts as a foundation for successful careers in all areas. Accordingly, all academic majors stress the mastery of a required core of liberal arts courses. Tuskegee University ranks No. 1 among all 309 baccalaureate colleges in the U.S. as reported in the September-October 2011 issue of Washington Monthly.

Tuskegee University is located in Tuskegee, Ala., which is 40 miles east of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, Ala., and 20 miles west of the city of Auburn, Ala. It is also within easy driving distance to the cities of Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta, Ga.

The academic programs are organized into seven colleges/schools: 1.) Andrew F. Brimmer College of Business and Information Science, 2.) College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences, 3.) College of Arts and Sciences, 4.) College of Engineering, 5.) College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, 6.) Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science, and 7.) School of Education.

Graduate instruction leading to the master’s degree and Doctor of Philosophy Degree is offered in six of the seven colleges.

The university is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS); and the following programs are accredited by national agencies: architecture, business, education, engineering, clinical laboratory sciences, nursing, occupational therapy, social work, and veterinary medicine. Of special note is the fact that Tuskegee University is the only independent, historically black university with four engineering programs that are nationally accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET), the major accrediting body for the engineering sciences. Also, Tuskegee University’s chemistry program is one of only a few Historically Black Colleges and Universities that is approved by the American Chemical Society. Furthermore, the dietetics program is approved by the American Dietetic Association and the food science program is approved by the Institute of Food Technologists.

Tuskegee University was the first black college to be designated as a Registered National Historic Landmark (April 2, 1966), and the only black college to be designated a National Historic Site (Oct. 26, 1974), a distinction administered by the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of Interior.

Special features in Tuskegee University’s program include: the General Daniel “Chappie” James Center for Aerospace Science and Health Education, honoring America’s first black four-star general who was a Tuskegee University graduate, and housing the nation’s only aerospace science engineering program at an HBCU; the media center in the School of Veterinary Medicine, with state-of-the-art video up-link and down-link, intra-school communications, audio/visual, graphics, photography and document production; the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center at Tuskegee University, a state-of-the-art hotel and meeting facility for educational, business and cultural events; and the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care, a distinctive research, teaching and outreach program that addresses issues of ethics and public policy in the treatment of people of color and rural Americans in health care.

Other special features that enhance the educational and cultural environment of the university include: the Booker T. Washington Monument, “Lifting the Veil,” which honors the university’s founder; George Washington Carver Museum (named for the distinguished scientist who worked at Tuskegee), which preserves the tools and handiwork of Carver; Tuskegee Archives, a chief center for information on the challenges, culture and history of black Americans since 1896; Tuskegee Airmen’s Plaza, commemorating the historic feats of America’s first black pilots, who were trained at Tuskegee University; Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) has graduated more African-American generals and admirals than any university in the U.S., including the military service academies; National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance for 2012-2017; and a Center of Excellence for Research on Nano-Biomaterials.

Over a century since it was founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881, Tuskegee University has become one of our nation’s most outstanding institutions of higher learning. While it focuses on helping to develop human resources primarily within the African-American community, it is open to all.

Tuskegee’s mission has always been service to people, not education for its own sake. Stressing the need to educate the whole person, that is, the hand and the heart as well as the mind, Washington’s school was soon acclaimed — first by Alabama and then by the nation for the soundness and vigor of its educational programs and principles. The solid strength has continued through the subsequent administrations of Dr. Robert R. Moton (1915-1935), Dr. Frederick D. Patterson (1935-1953), Dr. Luther H. Foster (1953-1981) and Dr. Benjamin F. Payton (1981-2010). On Nov. 1, 2010, Dr. Gilbert L. Rochon took office as the university’s sixth president.

Tuskegee enrolls more than 3,000 students and employs approximately 900 faculty and support personnel. Physical facilities include more than 5,000 acres of forestry and a campus on which sits more than 100 major buildings and structures. Total land, forestry and facilities are valued in excess of $500 million.