Since its founding on August 14, 1876, Prairie View A&M University, known then as Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth, has been uplifting the African-American community through the education of determined young students in Texas. Our exhibit will be a journey through time; you can see how we started, where we are now and what we have planned for the future. Everything we do impacts our community locally, nationally and on a global scale. We invite you to view pictures, explore our demo table and speak to our representatives to understand the type of meaningful impact we are making to society near and far.
Academics is paramount on the campus of Prairie View A&M University. We were established on the strength of the 2nd Morrill Act which provided land and funding to properly train and educate African-American students in Texas, regardless of their finances or social status.
The passing of the 2nd Morrill Act also made a way for the university to use its resources to send extension agent out into the counties to educate those hard working landowners and sharecroppers who were unable to attend the school. Our Extension Agents bring the University to the people by meeting their need and changing lives. The days of extension agent being solely agriculture agents are gone and have expanded to provide assistance to the community in the areas of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Science, 4-H and Youth Development, and Community and Economic Development.
The future of our great university is being spearheaded by first class research being conducted by quality researchers. Not only do our researchers push the envelope and explore unanswered questions, they don’t lose sight of the community around them. Much of the research done on campus has a practical application. It is important that the work we do impact the scientific community but it is equally as important for the research we do here, impact our community. Prairie View A&M University strives to be the best on all fronts, and that includes being the best resource for the community we serve.