Prairie View A&M University: Legacy and History Videos : Home

PVAMU Mission

Prairie View A&M University is a state-assisted, public, comprehensive land grant institution of higher education. The university was designated in a 1984 amendment to the Texas Constitution as an “institution of the first class.” It is dedicated to achieving excellence and relevance in teaching, research and service. It seeks to invest in program and services that address issues and challenges affecting the diverse ethnic and socioeconomic population of Texas and the larger society including the global arena. The university seeks to provide a high quality educational experience for students who, upon completion of bachelors, masters, or doctorate degrees, possess self-sufficiency and professional competences. The experience is imbued by the institution’s values including, but not limited to, access and quality, accountability, diversity, leadership, relevance, and social responsibility.

PVAMU History

Prairie View A&M University, the first state supported College in Texas for African Americans, was established during the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War. This was an historical period in which political and economic special interest groups were able to aggressively use the Federal Government to establish public policy, in an attempt to “alter or reshape the cultural milieu of the vanquished southern states”. The University had its beginnings in the Texas Constitution of 1876, which, in separate articles, established an “Agricultural and Mechanical College” and pledged that “Separate schools shall be provided for the white and colored children, and impartial provisions shall be made for both.” As a consequence of these constitutional provisions, the Fifteenth Legislature established “Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth” on August 14,1876. Excerpts taken from: “Prairie View, A Study In Public Conscience” by Dr. George Ruble Woolfolk – “A Centennial History of Texas A&M University, 1876-1976 Vol. II” by Henry C. Dethloff Edited by Frank D. Jackson