Fort Valley State University History

Fort Valley State College was established in 1895 as the Fort Valley High and Industrial School.

The group s leader, John Wesley Davison, himself a child slave, was hired as its first principal after its incorporation on January 6, 1896.

One of the first graduates of the young school was Austin Thomas Walden, who graduated in 1902 and became Georgia s first black judge since Reconstruction.

O Neal created the Ham and Egg Show, began in 1916 as a way to encourage local farmers to produce more food by showcasing examples of high quality meat.

In 1918, the institution received perhaps life-saving financial support after it agreed to the control of the Episcopal Church, which raised much of the funding for the academic building now known as Founders Hall.

1925 The Carnegie Foundation provided funds for the erection of the Carnegie Library.

Hunt used the growth of the school, which earned junior college status in 1928, to promote social and economic progress for African Americans, and became a nationally-recognized champion of their advancement and progress.

1929 The Academic Building was erected with funds contributed by the General.

1930 Ohio Hall was erected with funds contributed by the Episcopal Church of.

Fort Valley High and Industrial School changed its name to Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School in 1932.

In 1939, the state of Georgia acquired Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School and designated it a four-year senior college named Fort Valley State College.

1940 Doctor W. E. B. DuBois delivered the first Founder s Day address on October 10 it.

In 1941, Harriet Barfield Black became the first person to earn a degree from the new college.

The United States Office of Education noted in 1942 that FVSC was one of few black colleges with a clear statement of purposes.

Doctor Bond was succeeded in 1945 by Doctor Cornelius V. Troup, who served as president for 21 years.

1947 The Board of Regents adopted a resolution moving the Land-Grant designation.

In 1949, 10 years after the merger that formed Fort Valley State College, the Georgia legislature designated the college the state s land-grant institution for blacks.

1952 FVSU student Catherine Hardy won a gold medal as a member of the winning.

1954 The Alva Tabor Agriculture Building opened for occupancy on October 10.

1957 The Graduate Division was begun in the Fall.

1966 William Madison Boyd Hall opened for occupancy.

1967 The Lottie M. Lyons Student Union Building opened.

1968 The Agricultural Mechanics Building opened for occupancy.

became the first African-American woman judge in Georgia in 1969 when she was elected to serve on the Hancock County Court of the Ordinary.

1972 FVSC s first regionally televised football game appeared on ABC Television.

1973 Doctor C. W. Pettigrew was appointed fourth President.

1974 First acquisition of property on State College Drive.

1975 The new Florence Hunt Infirmary opened for occupancy.

1976 The new Henry Alexander Hunt Memorial Library opened for occupancy.

1978 The Animal Health Technology Building completed and opened for occupancy.

1979 The Leroy Bywaters Business Building opened for occupancy.

1982 The C. W. Pettigrew Endowment Fund was initiated.

Doctor Luther Burse became president in 1983, the same year the college launched its nationally renowned Cooperative Developmental Energy Program CDEP . The program works to increase the numbers of minorities and women working in the energy industry, both in the private and governmental sectors.

1987 The C. W. Pettigrew Farm and Community Life Center was dedicated.

1994 The Centennial Inauguration and Founders Day Celebration was held on November 3.

1995 The Computer Technology Mathematics CTM Building was opened for occupancy on August 18.

The school became Fort Valley State University, a state and land-grant university, in June 1996, and is the second largest land-grant institution.

2002 The African World Studies Institute was established.

The 44 million Wildcat Commons student apartments and residential complex opened in 2007, and a new Wildcat Stadium opened soon after.

2008 Construction began on a new academic building for the sciences.

2009 Ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, May 1 to celebrate the completion and grand.

2010 A Ribbon cutting ceremony held on August 25 signaled the official opening of the.

2011- A donation of 1.5 million was presented on behalf of President Obama, the United States.

2013 Doctor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith was appointed the Ninth President and took office on July 22, 2013.

In 2017, FVSU topped SR Education Group s national rankings of schools which enabled exceptional student mobility.

In 2018, Diverse Issues in Higher Education listed FVSU as a top 10 producer of producer of African-Americans with bachelor s degrees in mathematics, engineering technology, family and consumer sciences, computer and information systems, psychology, and history in the state of Georgia.