Virginia State University was founded on March 6, 1882, as the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, making it the first fully state supported, four-year institution of higher learning for Blacks in America. In its first academic year, the University held 126 students and seven faculty, one building, 33 acres, a library holding just 200 books, and a $20,000 budget. By 1982, the University transformed into a fully integrated institution with a 5,000-member student body, 250 faculty members, a 236-acre campus, 416-acre farm and more than 50 buildings. Today, Virginia State University is one of Virginia’s two land-grant institutions and enhances education through the integration of instruction, research, extension, and outreach, encouraging students to “branch out and dig deep.” The vast campus sits alongside a rolling landscape overlooking the Appomattox River in the Chesterfield County village of Ettrick. Through challenging academic programs, diverse student organizations, exciting extracurricular activities and outstanding faculty and administration, Virginia State University maintains and advances its long legacy of academic success.