Sesquicentennial Celebration

Celebrating 150 years of Daring To…

Join the Alcorn family as we celebrate 150 years as the nation’s oldest public historically Black land-grant institution. The year-long celebration includes signature events from the Kickoff Celebration in May, Homecoming in October and Black History Month in February 2022, there are opportunities for everyone to get involved. The celebration culminates with the spring commencement and our signature sesquicentennial closing gala in May 2022.

Born in 1871 from the embers of the Civil War, Alcorn was both Mississippi’s first public college for Black youth and the country’s first historically Black land-grant college. The university’s founders included the first Black U.S. senator, Hiram Revels, and Alcorn students followed his lead, blazing new paths in academics, athletics, civil rights, government, medicine, and other domains; Alex Haley, Medgar Evers, and Steve McNair stand as just three distinguished Alcornites who dared to make indelible marks within their fields.

Alcorn today enrolls more than 3,200 undergraduate and graduate students from Mississippi and around the globe. These students come to Alcorn for the excellence and affordability of its academic programs, the vibrancy of its campus life and the legendary NCAA Division I athletic program. Still deeply connected to its land-grant mission, the university operates its Extension Program from three locations serving local farming and ranching needs in 14 southwest Mississippi counties, while empowering citizens across the state.Save