Tuskegee University

Tuskegee University is a historically black university founded in 1881, less than two decades after slavery was banned in the United States. The college started out as a teaching school for black students and was a major step forward in education for black Americans in Alabama.

Tuskegee’s first principal was Booker T Washington, who at the time was just 25 years old. Booker T Washington remained the principal of Tuskegee University until he died in 1915. During that time he became a leading figure in African-American life in the United States and an advisor to US presidents. Today he is famed for his brave stand against the terrorism towards black citizens that gripped the country at the time.

There are eight academic divisions at Tuskegee: the Andrew F Brimmer School of Business and Information Science, the College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Robert R Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Sciences, the School of Education and the School of Nursing and Allied Health. Forty bachelor’s, 17 master’s and four doctoral programmes are on offer.

Tuskegee University is the only historically black university to have a fully accredited College of Veterinary Medicine and to offer PhDs in veterinary medicine. Over 75 per cent of African-American veterinarians in the world come from Tuskegee.

The university also produces the most African-American aerospace engineers in the country. The fighter pilot who went on to become the first African-American four star general, Daniel “Chappie” James, graduated from here.