Center for Culture & Learning

Culture, Creativity, and Community

The mission of the Southwest Mississippi Center for Culture & Learning at Alcorn State University is to celebrate culture, creativity and community. The Center serves as a resource for identifying, preserving, and communicating the rich history, vibrant culture, and cherished traditions of the region.

Through community outreach, hands-on and online learning opportunities, lectures, public forums, exhibitions, and celebrations the Center will become a significant part of the region's cultural landscape.

In 1871, Alcorn State University became the first land-grant Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the nation. The state legislature declared that Alcorn should be an agricultural college with the clear intent of providing practical knowledge of agriculture, horticulture and the mechanical arts. Agriculture still plays a large part at Alcorn. It is fitting then that the word culture denotes both the cultivation of the land and the mind. In this respect, the Center for Culture & Learning is a further extension of the university's roots.