Organization:Harris–Stowe State University

Short description: Historically black public university in St. Louis, Missouri

Harris–Stowe State University

Harris–Stowe State University
Former names	Harris Teachers College (1857–1954) Sumner Normal School (1890–1929) Stowe Teachers College (1929–1954) Harris–Stowe State College (1954–2005)
Motto	Inspiring change.
Type	public historically black university
Established	1857 (1857)
President	LaTonia Collins Smith
Provost	Edward Hill
Students	1,084 (Fall 2022)
Location	St. Louis , Missouri , United States
Campus	Urban
|u}}rs	Brown & Gold
Nickname	Hornets
Website	www.hssu.edu
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	3026 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103
Coordinates
Area	1.9 acres (0.77 ha)
Built	1905 (1905)
Architectural style	Tudor Revival
NRHP reference #	04000787
Added to NRHP	August 4, 2004

Harris–Stowe State University (HSSU) is a public historically black university in St. Louis, Missouri. The university offers 50 majors, minors, and certificate programs in education, business, and arts & sciences. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. It is immediately east of the Saint Louis University campus. The school enrolled 1,084 students in 2022.

History

In 1857, St. Louis Public Schools established a normal school (teaching college) for white students; it was subsequently named Harris Teachers College, after William Torrey Harris, a former St. Louis superintendent of schools and United States Commissioner of Education. In 1863 philosopher Anna Brackett became principal of the school, and it became the first normal school led by a woman in the United States. During her tenure, Brackett worked to ensure female students had access to higher education and liberal studies as preparation for professional teaching. She made two proposals to the Board of Education that were eventually adopted. The first proposal was an age requirement for entrance to the school. Second, there should be an entrance exam for admission to the St. Louis Normal School. In 1872, Brackett resigned as principal after there were changes in the curriculum that went against her beliefs. In 1920, it was authorized to issue a four-year Bachelor of Arts in Education degree.

In 1890, the St. Louis school system established Sumner Normal School to train black teachers. In 1929, its name was changed to Stowe Teachers College, after author Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, had promoted the abolitionist cause in the antebellum United States. from 1930 until 1940, Stowe Teachers College existed in the former Simmons Colored School campus.

The U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education mandated integration of public school systems. In response to this, Harris and Stowe Colleges were merged into one institution, which retained the "Harris Teachers College" name. At the behest of Stowe alumni and other St. Louisans, the name "Stowe" was added, and the school became Harris-Stowe College.

In 1979, the college was added to the state system of public higher education, under the name of Harris-Stowe State College. Its four-year education degree was changed to a Bachelor of Science in Education. It subsequently expanded its programs to offer several new degrees in education, including the B.S. in Urban Education, designed to enable non-teaching urban education personnel to address problems specific to urban schools; and a degree in Business Administration with various professional options.

The Stowe Teachers College building (built 1938-40), later the Turner Middle School, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Its listing was compatible with a 1998 study, and its 2010 extension, of historic resources in the Ville neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri.

In 2005, the college attained university status and was renamed Harris–Stowe State University.

Academics and accreditation

Academics

The Department of Academic Affairs comprises three academic units:

• Anheuser-Busch School of Business
• College of Arts & Sciences
• College of Education

All degree programs at Harris-Stowe begin with general education studies. Then upper-level courses concentrate on disciplinary studies.

William L. Clay, Sr. Early Childhood Development/Parenting Education Center

The William L. Clay, Sr. Early Childhood Development/Parenting Education Center is an early childhood child care center located on campus. Harris-Stowe invested $11 million into the new facility to train early learning professionals, provide parenting education, and offer high quality day care for children. Harris-Stowe was awarded an FY09 Area Resources for Community and Human Services (ARCHS) start-up and expansion grant to assist in the purchase of developmentally appropriate materials for the center's new infant/toddler rooms.

Accreditation

Harris–Stowe State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The Anheuser-Busch School of Business is also accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs and the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education. The School of Education is also accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

Ranking

Harris-Stowe State University was ranked #55-#70 in Regional Colleges Midwest in 2020 by U S News & World Report.

Student activities

Student organizations

The Office of Student Engagement sponsors or hosts more than thirty activities or special interest clubs and approximately a dozen academic clubs and honor societies, several campus affiliate chapters of national organizations, and nearly 12 Greek organizations (mostly in conjunction with other St. Louis area colleges and universities).

Academic organizations

• Sigma Alpha Pi National Honor Society
• Alpha Chi Honor Society
• Accounting Students Association
• Kappa Delta Pi
• Kappa Mu Epsilon (Math Honor Society)
• Delta Mu Delta

Athletics

The Harris–Stowe State athletic teams are called the Hornets. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) since the 1986–87 academic year. Their mascot is the Hornet.

Harris–Stowe State competes in 12 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, soccer and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading.

Men's basketball

The Harris–Stowe State men's basketball team won the American Midwest Conference tournament championship in 2017 and 2018.

Notable alumni

• Arlene Ackerman, former superintendent of public schools in District of Columbia, San Francisco and Philadelphia
• John Burton (1910–1992), first African-American mayor in Michigan
• Cori Bush, Representative for Missouri's 1st congressional district
• David S. Cunningham, Jr., Los Angeles, California, City Council member, 1973–87
• Kimberly Gardner, politician and circuit attorney for St. Louis, Missouri
• Julius Hunter, retired television anchorman, former St. Louis University vice-president, author
• Bobby Wilks, U.S. Coast Guard aviator, first African-American promoted to Captain in the Coast Guard
• DJ Tab, hip hop DJ, record producer, and entrepreneur

External links

• Official athletics website