Langston University

Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state and the westernmost HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Langston is a rural setting 10 mi east of Guthrie. The University also serves an urban mission, with University Centers in Tulsa (at the same campus as the OSU-Tulsa facility) and Oklahoma City. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

History
The school was founded in 1897 and was known as the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University. From 1898 to 1916 its president was Inman E. Page. Langston University was created as a result of the second Morrill Act in 1890. The law required states with land-grant colleges (such as Oklahoma State University, then known as Oklahoma A&M) to either admit African Americans, or provide an alternative school for them to attend as a condition of receiving federal funds. The university was renamed as Langston University in 1941 in honor of John Mercer Langston (1829–1897), civil rights pioneer, first African-American member of Congress from Virginia, founder of the Howard University Law School, and American consul-general to Haiti.

Through the years, Langston University has developed slowly but surely. Some of the most serious problems have been political influences, financial stress, and lack of adequate space and equipment. During the 1960s, the campus underwent a complete makeover. New buildings appeared, and additions were made to the library and auditorium.

Poet Melvin B. Tolson taught at Langston from 1947 until 1964. Tolson was portrayed by Denzel Washington in the film The Great Debaters.

In August 2021, university President Kent J. Smith Jr announced the university would use COVID-19 relief money to forgive the debt of students enrolled between spring 2020 and summer 2021, forgiving $4.65 million in student debt.

Langston University commemorated the opening of a state-of-the-art Allied Health Facility on its Tulsa Campus on March 30, 2023. The 17,000 square-foot building is home of the Langston University School of Nursing and Health Professions. The facility includes simulation labs with mannequins powered by artificial intelligence, spacious classrooms, a lecture hall, conference and meeting rooms, and department and administrative office spaces.

President Kent J. Smith Jr announced his retirement as the University's 16th President effective at the end of the Spring 2023 semester. The Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical Colleges Board of Regents unanimously appointed Ruth Ray Jackson as interim president beginning July 6, 2023. In 2024, she became its 17th president.

Academics
Six schools house the degree programs of Langston University: Sherman Lewis School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences; School of Arts and Sciences; School of Business; School of Education and Behavioral Sciences; School of Nursing and Health Professions; and the School of Physical Therapy. A total of 30 undergraduate and six graduate degree programs are offered at LU.

The university offers the Edwin P. McCabe Honors Program for highly motivated undergraduate students with exceptional academic records.

The university was accredited with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) program in 2005. It is the university's only doctoral program and one of two DPT programs in the state. Students learn in the School of Physical Therapy building.

Langston University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Several programs are accredited by accreditors specific to that discipline.

Athletics
The Langston athletic teams are called the Lions. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Sooner Athletic Conference since the 2018–19 academic year. The Lions previously competed as a member of the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) from 1998–99 to 2017–18. They were also a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) from 1931–32 to 1956–57, which is currently an NCAA Division I FCS athletic conference.

Langston competes in nine intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, football and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cheer, softball, track & field and volleyball.

There is also a co-ed club soccer program. The present athletic director is Donnita Rogers. The Lions won the 1939 and 1941 HBCU National Championships in football. Langston won two HBCU National Championships in basketball in 1944 and 1946. In February 2023, the Langston University Lions made history clinching its first men's basketball Sooner Athletic Conference tournament championship and being the first HBCU to win the men's basketball Sooner Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship in the same season.

Marching Pride


Langston's marching band is known as the "Langston University Marching Pride". It is a major ambassador of the university, a supporter at athletic events, and serves as a training center for students interested in pursuing a career in music and/or developing pertinent life skills. Charlie Wilson, of The Gap Band, once served as Drum Major. The band currently consists of over 210 members. Langston also has a jazz band, concert band, wind ensemble, Bahamian band, and trombone ensemble.

The Langston Marching Pride Band has won three bids to the Honda Battle of the Bands in the Georgia Dome since the inaugural event in 2003. The Band was one of eight bands selected for the 2023 Pepsi National Battle of the Bands in Houston, Texas.