SC State University history

The 1914 passage of the Smith-Lever Act created an educational partnership between land-grant colleges and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Founded in 1947, SC State’s ROTC “Bulldog Battalion” averages approximately 100 cadets and is one of the largest producers of minority officers for the Army.

The school's name changed, as well, as the South Carolina General Assembly renamed the school South Carolina State College in 1954.

Since 1966, S.C. STATE has been open to white students and faculty, but it has largely retained its mission and character as an historically black institution.

In 1971, the agricultural program was terminated and the college farm was transformed into a community recreation center consisting of a golf course as well as soccer and baseball fields.

In 1974 the 14-story Sojourner Truth Hall was constructed followed by the I.P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium, the only facility of its kind on a historically black college campus.

The university celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1987, which also saw the creation of Centennial Campus, bringing together academic, corporate, government and nonprofit leaders to partner in teaching, research and economic development.

In 1992 the college became South Carolina State University (SCSU).

Land-grant status was conferred on 30 Native American tribal colleges under the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994.

The first four buildings in Phase One opened on August 26, 2006, and the last two in the first phase opened on September 10, 2006.

On December 13, 2007, the Board selected Leonard McIntyre, the Dean of the College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences at SC State to serve as Interim President.

George Cooper, formerly with the United States Department of Agriculture, assumed the presidency of S.C. State on July 16, 2008 and was the tenth president to be at SCSU University.

Coach Willie Jefferies, ‘60, was inducted into the 2010 College Football Hall of Fame

SC State consists of approximately 107 buildings on 160 acres of land on its main campus in Orangeburg, and an additional 267 acres at Camp Harry E. Daniels in Ellore, S.C. The new Engineering and Computer Science Complex opens in early 2013.