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Savannah State University History
Savannah State University (SSU) is the oldest public historically black college or university in the state of Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in the city of Savannah. The school was established in 1890 as a result of the Second Morrill Land Grant Act, which mandated that southern and Border States develop land-grant colleges for black citizens. Later that year, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation creating the Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youths, which served as Georgia’s 1890 land-grant institution until 1947. A preliminary session of the Georgia State Industrial College was held in the Baxter Street School Building in Athens, Ga., before moving to Savannah in October 1891. Richard R. Wright, Sr., was appointed the first president of the institution in 1891, which opened with five faculty members and eight students.

The college awarded its first degree in 1898 to Richard R. Wright, Jr., the son of the founding president and became the ninth president of Wilberforce University. Cyrus G. Wiley of the class of 1902 was the first alumnus to become college president in 1921, the same year the first female students were admitted as residents on campus. In 1928, the college became a four-year, degree-granting institution, ending its high school and normal school programs.Upon the creation of the University System of Georgia (USG) in 1932, the college became one of the first members of the system and its name was changed to Georgia State College. Its name changed again in 1950 to Savannah State College, and the institution received initial accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in 1955. The USG Board of Regents elevated the college to university status in 1996 and renamed the institution Savannah State University.

Savannah State established the city's first master's degree program in elementary education in 1968, and became the first institution in Savannah to receive accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) from 1971-81. The teacher education program was transferred from SSU in 1979 as part of a federally mandated USG desegregation plan. In 2013, the SSU School of Teacher Education was reestablished at SSU with emphasis on preparation of middle and high school teachers in STEM disciplines.

Located on a salt water estuary, SSU offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in marine sciences — an innovative program launched in 1979. The marine sciences program is nationally recognized as a top producer of degrees and an important resource for the coastal area.

Savannah State was the first institution of higher education in Georgia to offer a bachelor's degree in homeland security and emergency management and the second in the state to offer a bachelor's degree in forensic science.

Savannah State continues to engage in groundbreaking research. SSU sent cutting-edge genetic material from campus laboratories to the International Spaces Station (ISS) in 2014. Savannah State has also earned two patents in 2016. One allows for the collection and harvest of organic material necessary for long-distance space travel. The other is a new chemical that has implications for treating Alzheimer's, ALS and dementia.

SSU is expanding its facilities with two new science and technology buildings. The university purchased property on Livingston Avenue where a new 17,000 square foot marine sciences laboratory is being constructed. On the main campus, work is underway on a new two-story, 30,000 square foot building to house engineering technology and chemistry laboratories.

Doubling its enrollment from 2001-2011, Savannah State is now home to an increasingly diverse student body of more than 4,900. Under the leadership of its 13th president, Cheryl Davenport Dozier, DSW, since May 2011, the university has embarked upon a new era — building upon the rich legacy of academic excellence and community engagement that has defined it for the last 127 years.

Education
Historically, the school’s focus was on training teachers and preparing African Americans for professional careers. The university later developed a strong tradition of preparing students in the sciences. Savannah State, for example, provided undergraduate training for over half of the African American physicians in the Savannah area. In the early years of the 21st Century the university also developed local small business development programs to assist the economic development of the local community and to train students in strategies specific to small businesses. Savannah State also maintains exchange programs in China and Ghana.

In 2003, Savannah State University had over 2,700 students, the vast majority of whom were African Americans from the state of Georgia. Although the faculty is the most diverse in the University System of Georgia, the school has recently begun efforts to recruit more Hispanic and Asian students. The university has schools of Business, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences and Technology, and offers more than 36 undergraduate majors along with master’s programs in business administration, public administration, and social work. Distinguished alumni include Lieutenant Commander Donnie Cochran, a pilot for the Blue Angels fighter group.

Savannah State established the city's first master's degree program in elementary education in 1968, and became the first institution in Savannah to receive accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) from 1971-81. The teacher education program was transferred from SSU in 1979 as part of a federally mandated USG desegregation plan. In 2013, the SSU School of Teacher Education was reestablished at SSU with emphasis on preparation of middle and high school teachers in STEM disciplines.

Located on a salt water estuary, SSU offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in marine sciences — an innovative program launched in 1979. The marine sciences program is nationally recognized as a top producer of degrees and an important resource for the coastal area.

Savannah State was the first institution of higher education in Georgia to offer a bachelor's degree in homeland security and emergency management and the second in the state to offer a bachelor's degree in forensic science.

Alumni Page
Savannah State’s alumni page provides small detail on some of the alum’s information (Where they are now, what they have done, majors, year of graduation, etc.). They have also failed to provide updated information regarding graduates past the 2000s. Alumni is an important aspect of a school because it connects former undergraduates and graduates to the students currently enrolled. Our approach to improve the alumni page is to provide the Wikipedia article with a hyperlink directing readers to the alumni association page(www.ssunaa.org). Another suggestion made by Alex Holcey would be to display a list of those who graduated in a recent year(includes all seasonal semesters). That list would provide full names, degrees earned, honorable mentions, clubs, and students have the option to opt out of this idea.

Housing History
Melvin Bostic was a student of Savannah State University whom was trying to raise funds to purchase books for his education. In 1972, Melvin Bostic was murdered by two white men as they pulled his jar of money in their car and dragged him down the road. His perseverance and determination to raise money for his education is what lead Savannah State University to name a traditional dorm after him. Which is now Bostic Hall. Since then there has also been an Honor Society for young men as well which is named after him which is “Melvin Bostic Honor Society.”

Richard R. Wright Hall was built in the mid 1950’s and later demolished and renamed Tiger Place. On April 11, 2013 it was then Renamed Richard R. Wright Hall Sr. and dedicated back to the university.