Tennessee State University

Tennessee State University (TSU) is a public, historically Black, land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. A member of the family of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), it is the only state-funded historically Black university in Tennessee. Through successive stages, TSU has developed from a normal school for Negroes to its current status as a national university with students from 44 states and 38 countries. The university offers 41 bachelor's degrees, 23 master's degrees, and eight doctoral degrees, and is classified as "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity." Generations of students, scholars, and Olympic athletes have walked its grounds, cementing TSU's place as one of the most significant educational institutions in Music City.

Founding and Early History

As the twentieth century began, Tennessee remained the only state with legal segregation that did not have a public college for its African American citizens. In 1907, after learning that the general assembly planned to authorize publicly supported normal schools, Nashville's African American leaders demanded the inclusion of a school for Black citizens. Benjamin Carr, Preston Taylor, and other African American leaders in Nashville formed the Colored Agricultural and Industrial Normal Association and launched a campaign to locate the school in Davidson County. Taylor, Carr, Henry Allen Boyd, James C. Napier, T. Clay Moore, W. S. Ellington, and others appeared before several legislative sessions, the Davidson County government, and the governor, and solicited over $80,000, including funds gathered from a door-to-door campaign in African American neighborhoods.

On January 13, 1911, the State Board of Education decided to locate Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School for Negroes in Davidson County. The first 247 students began their academic careers on June 19, 1912, and William Jasper Hale served as head of the school. Hale hand-picked faculty members from Atlanta, Fisk, and Howard, and while he embraced the agricultural-themed curriculum he knew state leaders wanted, he secretly created a Black history course and called it "Industrial Education" to mislead legislators.

In 1922, the school was granted the ability to award bachelor's degrees, and the first degrees were handed out in 1924. The school's motto became "Enter to learn; go forth to serve." Hale retired in 1943, and a year later, the first master's degrees were awarded. The Tennessee General Assembly of 1941 authorized the State Board of Education to upgrade substantially the educational program of the college, which included the establishment of graduate studies leading to the master's degree. The first master's degree was awarded by the college in June 1944. Accreditation of the institution by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools was first obtained in 1946.

On September 23, 1951, the school received recognition as Tennessee A&I State University and obtained the first Air Force ROTC unit for African Americans. In 1958 the university gained land grant status. In 1968, the college officially changed its name to Tennessee State University.

The Geier Case and the 1979 Merger

One of the most consequential chapters in TSU's institutional history involves the long-running legal battle over racial equity in Tennessee's public higher education system. In 1968, TSU faculty member Rita Sanders filed a lawsuit, which became known as Geier v. Tennessee, alleging a dual system of higher education in Tennessee based on race. When Frederick Humphries became TSU's president in 1975, Nashville was also home to a second public four-year university. The Knoxville-based University of Tennessee had begun offering extension credit in Nashville in 1947 and expanded its programs throughout the 1960s. By 1971, it was accredited as a degree-granting institution that occupied new quarters at the corner of Tenth and Charlotte Avenues.

On July 1, 1979, the Geier case was settled by a court order merging the former University of Tennessee at Nashville with TSU. As president, Humphries was the first to face the challenge of maintaining the balance between TSU's role as one of America's preeminent historically Black universities and its emerging status as a comprehensive national university. The merger substantially increased TSU's facilities, enrollment capacity, and academic scope, adding the downtown campus that remains in use today.

The Geier v. Tennessee case, however, remained alive for 32 years. Rita Sanders Geier was joined by the U.S. Department of Justice and by TSU professors Ray Richardson and H. Coleman McGinnis as co-plaintiffs in the suit. After numerous court-ordered plans failed to produce progress, all parties achieved a mediated consent decree that was ordered by the court on January 4, 2001.

Campus and Academic Programs

TSU's Nashville home offers two locations — the 500-acre main campus nestled in a beautiful residential neighborhood along the Cumberland River, and the downtown Avon Williams campus near the center of Nashville's business and government district. Tennessee State's main campus has the most acres of any college campus in Nashville. The main campus has more than 65 buildings and is located at 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd. By 1996, seven TSU buildings had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district — the first of Tennessee's public colleges and universities so designated.

Tennessee State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The university is divided into 10 schools and colleges and remains the only public university in Nashville. Its health science program is the largest in the state and one of the largest in the nation. The College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and TSU was the first institution in Nashville to earn the accreditation of both its undergraduate and graduate business programs, achieving that distinction in 1994. Programs in the College of Engineering are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) or the National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT). The Master of Public Health program was accredited in 2015 by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

Designated as a "high research" institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, Tennessee State strives for excellence in programming, offerings, and community engagement. The university is particularly noted for its strong Computer Science, Nursing, Engineering, and Agriculture programs, embodying its motto "Think, Work, Serve" through a commitment to academic excellence and community service.

In 2022, TSU received a landmark infusion of public funding. Tennessee State University was awarded $250 million from the state legislature, with funds intended to upgrade facilities and academic programs on campus. At the time of the award, the $250 million investment was the largest single investment into a historically Black institution in the history of the country.

Athletics and the TSU Tigerbelles

Tennessee State University has produced one of the most celebrated legacies in American Olympic sports history, centered on the women's track program known as the TSU Tigerbelles. TSU athletes have won 29 Olympic medals, and 23 of those medals came from Coach Ed Temple's legendary TSU Tigerbelles, like Wilma Rudolph, the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics.

Coach Ed Temple was the head coach of two Olympic teams and was selected as a member of the 2012 class of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Today, a statue of Ed Temple stands at the Nashville Sounds' ballpark for all to enjoy and learn about TSU's impressive Olympic history. Other TSU athletes, including Ralph Boston and Wyomia Tyus, have also won medals in the Olympic Games.

In collegiate athletics, Tennessee State University competes in NCAA Division I as part of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The university's athletic teams, known as the Tigers, don the school colors of Reflex Blue and White. TSU sponsors seven men's and eight women's teams in NCAA-sanctioned sports, and the school competes in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision. There are over 60 registered student organizations on campus including the Student Government Association, the Aristocrat of Bands (AOB), and many Greek-lettered organizations.

Notable Alumni and Cultural Impact

TSU alumni have made lasting contributions to American public life, entertainment, and culture. Notable TSU alumni include Oprah Winfrey — the first Black woman billionaire — Sen. Thelma Harper, Rep. Harold Love, Jr., actor Moses Gunn, and Grammy Award-winning gospel star Dr. Bobby Jones. In 2023, Oprah Winfrey served as the official commencement speaker for TSU for the first time.

Moses McKissack III, who helped design the National Museum of African American History and Culture, represents TSU's contribution to shaping how America sees Black history. His architectural firm, McKissack & McKissack, is the oldest Black-owned architecture and engineering firm in the United States.

Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover has served as President of Tennessee State University since January 2013. Under her leadership as the university's first female president, student enrollment has continuously ranked among the highest of the nation's HBCUs. TSU has also experienced a significant increase in alumni fundraising, research dollars, and academic offerings. Dr. Glover is a certified public accountant, an attorney, and is one of two African American women to hold the Ph.D–CPA–JD combination in the country.

On March 28, 2024, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed legislation that removed all of the school's board of trustees and replaced them with new members, subject to legislative confirmation — a move that sparked substantial public debate about governance, autonomy, and the future of the institution. TSU continues to hold a defining place in the civic, cultural, and educational fabric of North Nashville and the broader metropolitan area.