Virginia State University

Virginia State University, public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Petersburg, Virginia, U.S. The historically African-American university consists of schools of agriculture, business, liberal arts and education, science and technology, and graduate studies and continuing education. It awards a variety of bachelor’s degrees, and more than half of its departments offer graduate programs. Total enrollment is approximately 4,000 students.

Alfred W. Harris, a black state legislator, sponsored the bill that founded Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute in 1882. An antagonistic lawsuit delayed the school’s opening until October 1883, and insufficient support from the state hindered its progress in its early years. In 1902 the legislature reduced the school’s collegiate programs and changed its name to Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. It became Virginia’s African-American land-grant school in 1920, and three years later its collegiate programs were reinstated. It was renamed Virginia State College for Negroes in 1930 and Virginia State College in 1946; it was raised to university status in 1979. Norfolk State University, Virginia State’s Norfolk branch, was founded in 1944 and became independent in 1969.