History and Past Presidents

West Virginia State University was founded under the provisions of the Second Morrill Act of 1890 to provide education to black citizens in agriculture and the mechanical arts.  Like many other states at that time, West Virginia maintained a segregated education system.  On March 17, 1891, the Legislature passed a bill creating the West Virginia Colored Institute to be located in the Kanawha Valley. Federal funds provided $3,000 for faculty salaries and the West Virginia Legislature appropriated $10,000 to purchase land and to construct a building.  We now celebrate March 17 each year as the official “Founders Day” of West Virginia State University.

In 1915, the West Virginia Collegiate Institute began offering college degrees, academic programs were expanded and new buildings were constructed. In 1927, the Institute received accreditation from the North Central Association and in 1929 it became West Virginia State College.

After the 1954 United States Supreme Court historic decision outlawing school segregation, the Institution welcomed integration and met the unprecedented challenges of enrollment that quadrupled and transformed the institution into a racially and culturally diverse college. At that time, land-grant status was lost due to a decision of the West Virginia Board of Education. The College regained land-grant status in 2001, by an act of Congress and leveraged the accompanying federal funding to strengthen its mission of teaching, research and service to the community.

The first graduate degree programs were established in fall 2003 and with the passage of Senate Bill 448 during the 2004 legislative session, the Institution became West Virginia State University.

The University is a distinctive “living laboratory of human relations,” attracting students of all races, creeds, and backgrounds. In 2011-2012, WVSU’s student population was 61 percent White, 12.5 percent Black, 1 percent Asian, 1 percent Hispanic, 0.5 percent American Indian and 24 percent of students who preferred not to identify race.Those who work and learn at WVSU do so in an environment that more accurately reflects the diversity of America than any other college or university in West Virginia.

As a 21^st Century, master’s-level university, WVSU has attained national prominence as a historically black institution (HBCU) of higher education that is filling a need for higher education for students who want to obtain the knowledge and leadership capabilities to compete in a global marketplace.

The University has a fully accessible, multi-generational population of faculty, staff and students. Currently, WVSU has an enrollment of approximately 2,644 undergraduate and graduate students, served by approximately 200 full- and part-time faculty members, in 15 academic departments. Ninety percent of entering freshmen receive financial aid.

WVSU students have become judges, educators, mathematicians, chemists, nurses, pilots, activists, dentists, ministers, actors, athletes, lawyers, military generals, artists, musicians, NASA personnel, CEOs, bio-technologists, coaches, and one Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

Past Presidents

West Virginia State University has only had 10 presidents in its history. The first three were technically called “principals”.

The first administrators lived in Fleming Hall, a multipurpose facility, that was the first building constructed on the campus. It was James McHenry Jones who selected the dormitory, East Hall, as his residence. Five of the president’s resided there raising their families and entertaining distinguished visitors to the campus.

Dr. Harold McNeil was the last president to live there. A new president’s home was completed in 1990. East Hall was named to the Register of Historic Places and refurbished. The Planning and Advancement administrative area and the WVSU R & D Corp. are currently housed in the building.

The first president was James Edwin Campbell a poet, free-lance writer and mathematician from Pomeroy Ohio. At age 24, he was responsible for starting the new school. With experience in both administration and teaching, he also had a book of poems to his credit. The Campbell Conference Center is named for him.

The second president (1894 – 1898) was John H. Hill, a lawyer, teacher, administrator and soldier, who oversaw the first commencement. He resigned to fight in the Spanish-American War and later returned as an instructor. Hill Hall is named for him.

James McHenry Jones was the third president (1898 – 1909). He is responsible for adding a “normal” department. Mr. Jones is buried in the cemetery near the Rehabilitation Center on Barron Drive. Jones Hall is named for him.

Byrd Prillerman, a faculty member and one of those responsible for having the land-grant school located in the Kanawha Valley, was the fourth president. During his tenure, academic programs were expanded and the institution was given a new name “The West Virginia Collegiate Institute.” The former Prillerman Hall residence hall was named for him.

John Warren Davis was the fifth president (1919 – 1953). He focused on recruiting the best Black faculty members he could find and developing the curriculum. He persuaded noted historian, Carter G. Woodson, to assist him as Academic Dean. During his tenure the school was first accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1927. The name became West Virginia State College in 1929. Davis is the longest-serving president. The Davis Fine Arts Building is named for him.

The sixth president was William James Lord Wallace (1953 – 1973). The greatest challenge of his presidency came following U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, which declared segregated schools to be unconstitutional. Following that, the historically black West Virginia State College opened its doors to all students. Dr. Wallace not only met the challenge but set an example for the world to follow. The ease with which the College was integrated gave rise to the motto, “A Living Laboratory of Human Relations.” Wallace Hall is named for him.

Harold M. McNeill served as the seventh president of the University (1973 – 1981). During his tenure, the community college component was established; a building was erected for community college programs; and Ferrell Hall and the Drain-Jordan Library were renovated. The McNeill Physical Facilities Building is named for him.

The eighth president was Thomas W. Cole, Jr. (1982 – 1986). During his administration Dr. Cole made several organizational changes in the institution creating new academic divisions and establishing a planning and advancement unit. Dr. Cole left West Virginia State in 1986 to become Chancellor of the West Virginia Board of Regents. The Cole Complex is named for him.

Shortly after he became the ninth president in September 1987 Dr. Hazo W. Carter, Jr. began what would become a 12-year quest to regain the College’s land-grant status that had been transferred in the 1950s. Since “State” was the only institution to have the status removed, there was no precedent for recovering it. By the year 2000, West Virginia State was once again recognized on both the state and federal levels as an 1890 land-grant institution with accompanying funding to carry out its mission.

With the birthright land-grant status restored, the quest began for West Virginia State to be designated a university. West Virginia State University became a reality in 2004. These achievements, accompanied by two highly successful accreditations by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the addition of graduate programs highlight his administration.

The University’s 10th president was Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D. (2012 – 2016). He served with unwavering passion and inspired a campus-wide focus on excellence, accountability, and student-centeredness through rebranding, marketing and community engagement. During his tenure, the University implemented new academic programs, expanded international programs and partnerships, including an ESL program, and began the process of launching fully-online degree programs. Under his leadership, the Research Rookies Program for student researchers and the PEER program for research faculty were created and implemented. Dr. Hemphill led a $53.9 million campus facilities revitalization, which included the construction of three state-of-the-art facilities including the D. Stephen and Diane H. Walker Convocation Center, the Judge Damon J. Keith Scholars Hall, and the Gregory V.  Monroe Athletic Complex. Under his leadership, the University completed its first Capital Campaign surpassing the $18 million goal more than a year ahead of schedule and nearly doubling the University’s endowment. Dr. Hemphill left West Virginia State University in 2016 to become the seventh president of Radford University in Radford, Virginia.

The University’s 11th President Dr. Anthony L. Jenkins, 2016-2020, was a visionary, powerful orator and a leader of action, who ushered in a new era at West Virginia State University. He lifted the national brand of WVSU and repositioned the University to be more competitive, relevant and sustainable. He was the first president to secure full funding of the University’s state land-grant match, and he worked with the White House and Congress to pass the historic landmark 2018 Farm Bill and FUTURE Act. He expanded academic offerings by re-establishing the University’s authority to grant associate degrees as well as creating the University’s first Nursing, Engineering and Agricultural programs, seven fully online degree programs, and international partnerships in China, Mexico and Africa. Dr. Jenkins commitment to increasing access to higher education drove him to develop innovative student-focused initiatives such as: WVSU STEM Academy, Straight 2 STATE, WVSU Yellow Jacket Summer Bridge Program, and the Yellow Jacket Loyalty Program, all of which were the first of their kind at the University. He transformed campus with the creation of the Katherine Johnson Plaza, and the University’s first Integrated Research and Extension Building. Dr. Jenkins left WVSU in May 2020 to become president of Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Nicole Pride was the first woman to serve as president of West Virginia State University. Dr. Pride began her service as the university’s 12th president in September 2020. Prior to coming to WVSU, she began her career in the corporate and non-profit sectors, and left industry to begin her service in higher education at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. At North Carolina A&T, she served as principal liaison and senior adviser to the chancellor, a member of the chancellor’s executive cabinet, and provided strategic and operational support for internal and external constituencies.