page_title: West Virginia State University
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: West Virginia State University / History / Early history
caption_attribution_description: English: John Warren Davis (11 February 1888 – 12 July 1980) was an African American educator, college administrator, and civil rights leader. Davis was the fifth and longest-serving president of West Virginia State College in Institute, West Virginia, from 1919 to 1953.
context_page_description: West Virginia State University is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia. Founded in 1891, it is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges and universities established by the second Morrill Act of 1890, which evolved as a diverse and inclusive campus. Following desegregation, WVSU's student population slowly became more white than black. As of 2017, WVSU is 75% white and only 8% African-American.
  The university's Gus R. Douglass Land-Grant Institute is divided into three programmatic divisions: WVSU Extension Service, WVSU Agricultural and Environmental Research Station, and The Center for the Advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The WVSU Extension Service provides community and agricultural outreach throughout West Virginia via 4-H Youth Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Community and Economic Development, and Family and Consumer Sciences programs.
context_section_description: The school was established as the West Virginia Colored Institute in 1891 under the second Morrill Act, which provided for land-grant institutions for black students in the 17 states that had segregated schools. The school opened its doors in May 1892 and had an enrollment of over 40 students. The faculty consisted of President James Edwin Campbell, Byrd Prillerman, and T.C. Friend. The curriculum consisted of courses in agriculture, horticulture, mechanical arts, and domestic science. Teacher education ("normal") courses were added in 1893. Military education became an integral part of the school, and in 1899 West Virginia's legislature passed a bill to admit up to 60 cadets. In 1909, African-American educator and statesman, Booker T. Washington recommended his friend, Byrd Prillerman, become the institution's president. Washington had been instrumental in locating the institution located in the Kanawha Valley, visited the campus often and spoke at its first commencement exercise. During Prillerman's 10-year administration, the school established itself as the center of black intellectual life in the state.
  From 1891 through 1915, the school provided the equivalent of a high school education, with vocational training and teacher preparation for segregated public schools.  In 1915, it became the West Virginia Collegiate Institute and began to offer college degrees. In 1919, John Warren Davis became president of the institute. A Morehouse graduate, Davis recruited highly qualified faculty and focused on curriculum development. He persuaded noted historian Carter G. Woodson to assist him as academic dean. In 1927, the school was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, making it the first of 17 original black land-grant schools to be certified by a regional association and one of only four black colleges to gain such status. It also became the first public college in West Virginia to be accredited by North Central. In 1929, the name was changed to West Virginia State College. With an enrollment of 1,000 students, the college contained divisions of Applied Arts and Sciences; Languages, Literature and Fine Arts; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; and Social Sciences and Philosophy.
  In 1939, West Virginia State College became the first of six historically black colleges to be authorized by the Civil Aeronautics Authority to establish an aviation program. Benefiting from the presence of the Wertz Field airport adjacent to campus, the program prepared many African American pilots to the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. Several college aviators joined the famed 99th Fighter Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group (the Tuskegee Airmen) that served with distinction in the European Theater. One of the original graduates of the aviation program, Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins, was the first African American woman to become a solo pilot in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. During World War II, West Virginia State College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. In 1942, a college ROTC program was established as an artillery unit. The ROTC tradition continues today, and the school has claimed 15 general officers who have graduated from West Virginia State, including Major General Charles C. Rogers and Major General Harvey D. Williams.
caption: John Warren Davis, 5th President
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