Southern University at New Orleans

Infobox University
name = Southern University at New Orleans
native_name =

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caption = SUNO campus being prepared for reopening after Katrina
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established = Start date|1956|09|4
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chancellor = Dr. Victor Ukpolo
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students = 2,842
undergrad = 2,289
postgrad = 553
doctoral =
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city = New Orleans
state = Louisiana
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United States
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sports = Men and women's: basketball, cross country and track & field
colors = Columbia Blue and Sunset Gold
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nickname = SUNO
mascot = The Knight
athletics = National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
affiliations = Gulf Coast Athletic Conference
website = [http://www.suno.edu]

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Southern University at New Orleans is an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is part of the Southern University System, the only HBCU system in the world. It is often referred to by its initials SUNO. Other campuses of the Southern University System are Southern University and Agriculatural & Mechanical College, Southern University at Shreveport, the Southern University Law Center and the Southern University Agricultural Extension. The university's first chancellor was Dr. Emmett W. Bashful, who remains the institution's chancellor emeritus.

SUNO was established on September 4, 1956 and opened its doors on September 21, 1959 adjacent to the historic Pontchartrain Park neighborhood, a subdivision historically made up of African-American single-family residences in eastern New Orleans and the first African-American subdivision in America. Like most of New Orleans, the campus experienced extensive flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hurricane Rita also caused damage to all eleven of the buildings on the 17-acre campus.

The university is an open admission institution until the fall of 2010 when it will become a Louisiana "Selective III" institution. At that time potential students will have to complete the Louisiana Board of Regents high school core curriculum. In addition candidates will need at least a high school grade point average of 2.0 or an ACT composite score of at least 20 or the SAT equivalent of 950. Students requiring more than one remedial course will not be eligible for immediate admission.

History

The Beginning

Southern University at New Orleans was founded as a branch unit of Southern University in Baton Rouge by Act 28 of the Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature. When the university's doors opened in 1959, classes began with 158 freshmen, one building and a faculty of fifteen instructors. The university offered courses in four academic disciplines, including the humanities, science, social science and commerce. The first graduation took place in May, 1963 when baccalaureate degrees were awarded to fifteen graduates.

Expansion and Change

Over the years several events have affected the direction of SUNO. Within five years SUNO grew rapidly. During the fall of 1964 the university's enrollment grew to 1,300 and the institution boasted 70 members. One occurred on November 8, 1960. It was then that the Louisiana Legislature adopted Amendment 26. The act prescribed that SUNO should remain an extension of Southern University, thereby precluding any impending status of autonomy for SUNO.

In January, 1964 Virginia Cox Welch, a white high school teacher, filed a lawsuit in Federal Court against the Louisiana State Board of Education. This litigation, Civil Action No. 14217, resulted in opening the university to all regardless of race or color.

In 1975 the management of SUNO was transferred from the Louisiana State Board of Education to the newly-created Board of Supervisors of Southern University by virtue of Article 8, Section 7 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974. The new constitution also designated SUNO as a campus of the Southern University System creating parity with the other Southern University campuses.

SUNO would later benefit from a consent decree on September 8, 1981. The court order, which was handed down by federal judges as an out-of-court settlement between the State of Louisiana and the Justice Department over the issue of segregation, allowed SUNO to add nine academic programs and also to receive funds to upgrade campus facilities. Despite the order racial discrimination in the higher education landscape remained an issue. As a result of Civil Action 80-3300 on November 14, 1994 the United States, the State of Louisiana, the governor of Louisiana, the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Boards of Supervisors for Louisiana State University and Southern University and the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities agreed to a desegregation settlement. The settlement, which was effective through 2004, enabled SUNO to retain its open admissions status and classification as a Four Year-V university. The university, as a result, expected to qualify as a Four Year-IV institution by offering four-year undergraduate programs and graduate programs in specific areas.

As time progressed the university took advantage of valuable opportunities to boost its academic programs. The most notable progress came in SUNO's School of Social Work. Guided by the institution's first dean, Millie McClelland Charles, the School of Social Work blossomed into one of the most recognized programs in the South. Particularly the popularity of the School of Social Work's master's program grew. In the fall of 2008 the Master of Social Work program grew to capacity with 150 students and many more candidates on the waiting list.

SUNO's criminal justice program also gained notoriety. Offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees, the criminal justice program has evolved into a program that delves into seeking community solutions to prevent criminal behavior through the study of the causes of criminal behavior. The program is complemented by studies in the social sciences and has become a program of choice of those seeking career enhancements in law, law enforcement and the justice system.

The sciences garnered a wealth of attention in the early 2000's when SUNO aggressively implemented components of the Program for Excellence in Mathematics and Computer Technology (PESMaCT) as well as the Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LAMP). Through the programs, university science instructors have been able to increase the number and quality of minority students enrolling in and completing undergraduate and advanced degrees in the sciences, technology and mathematics. Because of the diligent work of the faculty, one of the instructors Dr. Joe Omojola, received a 2006 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from the National Science Foundation.

Hurricane Katrina

SUNO's Park Campus, the original campus at 6400 Press Drive, was completely compromised as a result of the levee breaches caused by Hurricane Katrina and the storm surge later caused by Hurricane Rita. Flood waters grew to as high as eleven feet in the buildings, causing the school's physical plant to require replacement.

The damage caused SUNO to finish its fall 2005 semester on its sister campus in Baton Rouge. Operations as well as classes were conducted at Southern University until a temporary campus was assembled. After negotiations with the State of Louisiana, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the university was able to open a temporary facility, called SUNO North Campus (later to be named the Lake Campus) on February 14, 2006. Until January of 2008 SUNO operated completely out of the trailers.

The damage caused by the storms also extended to academics. Twenty of the university's programs were stripped due to the loss of students and faculty. Prior to Katrina SUNO's enrollment exceeded 3,600 students but it was projected that the enrollment would dip to as few as 1,200 students. To the surprise of many SUNO's enrollment regained more than 2,000 including online students when the university returned to grounds near the Park Campus in the spring of 2006.

In the wake of the storms SUNO also gained academic programs. By request of the Louisiana Board of Regents the university added undergraduate degrees in Public Administration, Health Information Systems and Child Development & Family Studies. The university also converted several previously administered undergraduate degrees into Management Information Systems and Business Entrepreneurship. The university also offers a master's degree in Management Information Systems as a result of the conversion. In the fall of 2008 the Board of Regents approved the reinstatement of undergraduate degrees in English, History and Mathematics.

Academic Programs

;College of Arts and Sciences
*Bachelor of Arts: Biology, English, History, Psychology, Sociology and Substance Abuse Counseling (includes an Associate of Arts)
*Bachelor of Science: Criminal Justice, Health Information Management and Mathematics
*Bachelor of General Studies

;College of Business and Public Administration
*Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration
*Bachelor of Science: Business Entrepreneurship and Management Information Systems

;College of Education
*Bachelor of Arts in Child Development and Family Studies
*Bachelor of Science: Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education (includes alternative certifications)

;College of Social Work
*Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare

;School of Graduate Studies
*Master of Arts in Museum Studies
*Master of Science: Criminal Justice and Management Information Systems
*Master of Social Work

;Accreditations
*Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
*Council for Social Work Education
*National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education

tudent Activities

Athletics

SUNO possesses a rich history in athletics. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and part of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. Although the Knights are a part of the NAIA at one time they competed in the NCAA's Division III. The university boasts seven national championships between the NCAA and NAIA.

SUNO's men have appeared in six NAIA Basketball Tournaments and the women have appeared in one NAIA Basketball Tournament. The university has also garnered over 150 NAIA All-American honors in the athletic programs including six earned at the NAIA 2008 Indoor Track & Field Championships. Dr. Artis Davenport was named NAIA Women's Indoor and Outdoor as well as Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year in 1995. He earned the same honor in 1997 for Indoor Track & Field. Two Olympians have competed in SUNO's Track & Field Program---Savatheda Fynes (Bahamas) and Julius Achon (Uganda).

National Championships

NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field in 1975, 1976 and 1977. NAIA Women's Outdoor/Indoor Women's Track & Field in 1995 and 1997.

Conference Championships

1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990: Women's Cross Country1988 and 1989: Men's Cross Country1995 and 2003: Men's Basketball Tournament & Conference2000: Women's Conference co-champions and Men's Conference2002: Men's Tournament and Conference co-champions2004: Men's Conference co-champions

External links

* [http://www.suno.edu/ SUNO.edu] - Official web site