Norfolk State University

The Norfolk, Virginia-based Norfolk State Institution, sometimes known simply as NSU, is a public historically black university. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Virginia High-Tech Partnership both count it as a member organisation.

The Norfolk Unit of Virginia Union University was first established on September 18th, 1935 as the university that we know today. In 1935, there were a total of eighty-five pupils who participated in the inaugural courses. Mr. Samuel Fischer Scott, a native of Portsmouth and graduate of Virginia Union, served as the school's first director. His major responsibility was to ensure that the institution continued to be financially stable. Dr. Lyman Beecher Brooks, a graduate of Virginia Union, followed Mr. Scott as director of the university in 1938. He also held the positions of provost from 1963 to 1969 and first president from 1969 to 1975.

In 1942, the institution separated from Virginia State University and changed its name to Norfolk Polytechnic College. Within the next two years, it was incorporated into Virginia State College as a result of an act passed by the Virginia General Assembly (now Virginia State University). By the time the institution celebrated its 15th anniversary in 1950, the number of teaching members had increased to fifty, and the number of students had reached 1,018. The name and identity of "Spartan" was given to the sporting teams of the institution in the year 1952.

The institution was given a permanent location on Corprew Avenue by the city of Norfolk, and in 1955, Brown Hall, which had previously been known as Tidewater Hall, became the first permanent structure to open on the new campus. The institution that would one day become Norfolk State College handed out its first bachelor's degrees in the year 1956.

After separating from Virginia State College in 1969, the institution eventually became known as Norfolk State College. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted accreditation to the institution in the same year that it had 5,400 students enrolled there. The first master's degrees in the fields of communications and social work were conferred for the first time in 1975 and the year that followed, respectively. After 37 years in the role of President, Dr. Lyman Beecher Brooks was replaced in that role by Dr. Harrison Benjamin Wilson, Jr. in 1975.

In 1979, once the institution was elevated to the rank of a university by the General Assembly of Virginia, the college officially changed its name to Norfolk State University.

In 1985, Norfolk State University celebrated its 50th anniversary with a year-long series of events, and the school's enrollment stood at 7,200 students at the time. In 1995, the number of students enrolled at Norfolk State University reached 9,112.