Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and the flagship institution of the Southern University System. Its campus encompasses 512 acres (207 hectares), with an agricultural experimental station on an additional 372-acre (151-hectare) site, five miles (8.0 km) north of the main campus on Scott's Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section of Baton Rouge.
Southern University's 13 intercollegiate athletics teams are known as the Jaguars, and are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in NCAA Division I. The Human Jukebox is a well known collegiate marching band that has represented Southern University since 1947.
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History
At the 1879 Louisiana State Constitutional Convention, African-American political leaders P. B. S. Pinchback, Theophile T. Allain, and Henry Demas proposed founding a higher education institution "for the education of persons of color".
In 1880, the Louisiana General Assembly chartered what was then called Southern University for Colored Students in New Orleans. Southern opened its doors on March 7, 1881 with 12 students. Classes were held for a time at the former Israel Sinai Temple on Calliope Street, between St. Charles and Camp Streets.
In 1890, the legislature designated Southern as a land-grant college for blacks, in order to continue to satisfy federal requirements under the land grant program to support higher education for all students in the state, while maintaining a segregated higher education system. It established an Agricultural and Mechanical department.
The 1904 "Picayune Guide to New Orleans" described the university, then on the 5100 block of Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans, as "for the education of colored persons. Coeducation is in force here. The school is excellent and the instruction of an advanced character."
For various reasons, including proximity to more rural Louisiana residents and pressure from white neighbors in the Audubon Neighborhood, which also contained Tulane and Loyola, the university moved in 1914 to Scotlandville, an area just north of Baton Rouge along Scott's Bluff facing the Mississippi River. Now absorbed into the capital, this area is included as a historic destination of the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. The college's first president after the move was Joseph Samuel Clark, an African-American leader from Baton Rouge, who previously led Baton Rouge College and the Louisiana Colored Teachers Association.
In 1921, the Louisiana Constitutional Convention authorized the reorganization and expansion of Southern University; Legislative Act 100 of 1922 provided that the institution be reorganized under the State Board of Education's control. Clark continued to preside over Southern University during its resulting expansion. Student enrollment grew from 47 to 500, and two of the school's early buildings were built during this time.
Academics
Southern has six degree-granting colleges and a law school on campus:
College of Education, Arts, and Humanities
College of Business
College of Sciences and Engineering
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
College of Sciences and Agriculture
College of Nursing and Allied Health
Southern University Law Center
The Southern University Law Center is one of only two public law schools in Louisiana. The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association and was established in 1947. The law school has approximately 700 full-time and part-time students and operates as an independent entity.
Southern University is the first Louisiana institution to offer degrees in philanthropic studies.
In 2023, the College of Nursing and Allied Health won Louisiana's nursing school of the year award given by the Louisiana Nursing Foundation for the sixth time. The college is one of only two in Louisiana to offer a PhD in Nursing and is the largest producer of African Americans with Master of Science in Nursing degrees in the nation.
Southern University is the only HBCU and one of six public universities in Louisiana with an engineering program.
Southern University has nationally recognized Army and Navy ROTC programs.
The Dolores Spikes Honors College is a selective non degree-granting college specifically established to provide an enhanced educational experience for undergraduates with strong academic achievements and intellectual ability. The college is named after Southern University graduate and only woman president of the institution, Dolores Richard Spikes.
Campus
Lake Kernan flows through the center of the campus and the Mississippi River forms its western boundary. Since 1960, buildings containing more than 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m2) of floor area have been constructed. The campus is often affectionately referred to as "The Bluff".
Southern University has eight on-campus residence halls.
The Smith-Brown Memorial Union is a 66,200-square-foot (6,150 m2) multipurpose building that serves as a major center for extracurricular activities. The recently renovated Union features a six food court with popular food outlets; barber and beauty shops; television rooms; 12 bowling lanes; a game room for billiards, video games, and quiet games; an art gallery; a browsing room; a ballroom, meeting and conference rooms; and a U.S. post office. The building also houses offices for student organizations.
The John B. Cade Library is a 154,000-square-foot (14,300 m2) edifice named after the John Brother Cade, the first principal of Southern University Laboratory School. The library contains over a million volumes, nearly 2,000 journal subscriptions, 600,000 microforms and 1,800 recordings. The library houses the Camille Shade African-American Heritage Collection on the 3rd floor.
The F.G. Clark Activity Center has accommodations for theater, athletic events, conferences, convocations, and recreational activities. The building houses the Athletic Department.
The J.S. Clark Administration Building contains the offices of the Southern University Board of Supervisors, the Southern University System officers, the President-Chancellor of the Baton Rouge campus, and other campus administrative officers.
E.N. Mayberry Dining Hall contains the Magnolia Room, the Cypress Room and the Oak Room, which is for student dining. Dunn Cafeteria is in the Freshman Complex.
Student demographics
As of fall 2022, Southern had 6,470 undergraduate students and 1,756 graduate students. 66% of students were female and 34% male. 70% of students were from Louisiana; East Baton Rouge Parish, Orleans Parish, and Rapides Parish were the top three feeder parishes. The top three feeder states for out-of-state students were Texas (647 students), Georgia (235 students), and California (202 students). There were 245 students from a foreign country. Approximately 82% of SU students identified as Black and 18% identified as non-Black.
Athletics
The Southern Jaguars and Lady Jaguars represent the university in NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Southern's sports teams participate in Division I (FCS for football) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
For more than 20 years, NBC has provided live coverage of Southern University's football game, the Bayou Classic, against its northern Louisiana SWAC rival, Grambling State University.
Student life
Southern University Marching Band
The Southern University marching band, better known as the Human Jukebox, has been featured in numerous television commercials, music videos and has been invited to participate in the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, presidential inauguration ceremonies and six Super Bowl halftime presentations. The band was also featured in the music videos for the Jonas Brothers song, "Pom Poms" and for Lizzo song, "Good as Hell". In 2008, The band was named "Best Dressed Marching Band" by FashionNews.com, and named "#1 Band In The Nation" by USA Today. In 2014, the NCAA ranked the band second best in the nation.
SU media
The university's weekly student produced newspaper is The Southern Digest. The award-winning newspaper was established in 1926 and operates under the Southern University Office of Media Services. "The Bluff" is an Internet radio station managed by students that offers a mixture of news, interviews, and music.
Student organizations
There are nearly 150 student organizations active on campus.
Legacy of Lacumba
Southern University was the first HBCU to house a live exotic animal mascot on campus. Henry J. Bellaire, alumnus and president of the 1961 senior class, and alumna Helen Williams presented a baby jaguar as a gift to Southern University. The jaguar was named Lacumba (meaning "Heart of Africa") and was born on May 26, 1971. In 1991, Lacumba retired to the Acadiana Zoo in Broussard, LA and was replaced with Lacumba II. Lacumba II (commonly referred to as simply Lacumba) was born on May 12, 1991, the offspring of two rare black jaguars bred in hopes of producing a black jaguar. However, Lacumba II was born brown; it grew to be 200 pounds. Lacumba II died of natural causes at the age of 15 in December 2004 and was the last jaguar to live on campus. Animal rights advocates dissuaded the university from purchasing a new jaguar. The jaguar pen remains in front of the A.W. Mumford football stadium off Harding Boulevard. The legacy of Lacumba lives on through the school's costumed jaguar mascot, Cafe Lacumba, a bronze jaguar statue near Mumford stadium, and a jaguar named after Lacumba at the Baton Rouge Zoo.
Notable people
Other faculty members
Blyden Jackson, English professor 1954–1956, and Dean of the Graduate School
Jacquelyne Jackson, sociology professor from 1959 to 1962
William Moore, chemistry professor and vice chancellor for academic affairs
Jewel Prestage, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs
Morgan Watson, Professor of Engineering