Grambling State University is one of the best known Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States. Located in Grambling, Louisiana, Grambling State was founded in 1901 as the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School. The school's name was changed to Lincoln Parish Training School in 1918, and Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute in 1928. The school became Grambling College in 1946 named after a white saw mill owner, P.G. Grambling, who donated a parcel of land for the school to be constructed, and gained university status in 1974.

A constituent member of the University of Louisiana System (ULS), GSU is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Its instructional programs are delivered through its four colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Professional Studies; and its School of Graduate Studies and Research. Within this structure, the University offers sixty-four programs, leading to certification, associate, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees. The University offers the only doctorate in developmental education in the nation.

Grambling State University emerged from the desire of African-American farmers in rural north Louisiana who wanted to educate other African Americans in the northern and western parts of the state. In 1896, the North Louisiana Colored Agriculture Relief Association was formed to organize and operate a school.

After opening a small school west of what is now the town of Grambling, the Association requested assistance from Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Charles P. Adams, sent to aid the group in organizing an industrial school, became its founder and first president.

Under Adams’ leadership, the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School opened on November 1, 1901. Four years later, the school moved to its present location and was renamed the North Louisiana Agricultural and Industrial School. By 1928, the school was able to offer two-year professional certificates and diplomas after becoming a state junior college. The school was renamed Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute.

In 1936, Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones became the second president. The program was reorganized to emphasize rural education. It became internationally known as “The Louisiana Plan” or “A Venture in Rural Teacher Education.” Professional teaching certificates were awarded when a third year was added in 1936, and the first baccalaureate degree was awarded in 1944 in elementary education.

The institution’s name was changed to Grambling College in 1946. Thereafter, the college prepared secondary teachers and added curricula in sciences, liberal arts and business. With these programs in effect, the school was transformed from a single purpose institution of teacher education into a multipurpose college. During the 1950s, the college obtained full membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In 1974, the addition of graduate programs in early childhood and elementary education gave the school a new status and a new name – Grambling State University.

From 1977 to 2000, the University moved and prospered. Several new academic programs were incorporated and new facilities -including a business and computer science building, school of nursing, student services building, stadium, stadium support facility, and an intramural sports center - were added to the 384-acre campus

Through the years, the University has acquired the prestige and academic strength noted only among much larger institutions. From its distinction of being one of the country’s top producers of African American graduates, to being the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and its internationally renowned Tiger Marching Band, Grambling State University has become a household name in this country and abroad.

Website: http://www.gram.edu

1. Doug Williams
2. Eddie Robinson
3. Willie Brown
4. Junious "Buck" Buchanan
5. Willie Davis