HAMPTON UNIVERSITY

HISTORY

Located in the tidewater area of Virginia between Virginia Beach and historic Williamsburg, Hampton University was originally founded as the Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute in 1868 as a place to train newly freed African Americans. A private, nonsectarian, coeducational institution of higher learning, it was the first US college to admit Native Americans. In 1878 it was renamed Hampton Institute and became Hampton University in 1984.

This faculty in three colleges and six schools is internationally renown. Over the years Hampton and has grown into a comprehensive university offering a broad range of technical, liberal arts, pre-professional, professional and graduate degree programs, it among the leaders in higher education, and has consistently placed among the elite in numerous national polls and rankings.

CAMPUS LIFE

Today, Hampton has over 5,700 coed students representing 49 states and 35 territories and nations. The majority of the students live on campus and enjoy the beautiful 204-acre landscaped setting nestled on the banks of the Hampton River and surrounded by water on three sides. Considered to be one of the nation's most beautiful campuses, they call it your
"Home by the Sea."

There are 155 buildings encompassing historic landmarks and state-of-the-art facilities including the William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library with new Academic Technology Mall, the recently renovated university museum containing the foremost collections of African, African-American, and Native American art held by any historically Black college or university in the nation, and Emancipation Oak. The latter is the site where in 1863 members of the Virginia Peninsula's Black community gathered to hear the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. Today this majestic giant has been designated as one of the great trees of the world by the National Geographic Society.

Other amenities include a university-owned commercial development -- the Hampton Harbor Project -- consisting of a shopping center and 246 two-bedroom apartments, the after-tax profits of which are primarily utilized for student scholarships. Plus, the University has erected 14 new buildings and spent some $35,000,000 on the renovation of existing facilities.

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY

BLACK CULTURAL TRAVEL MADE EASY