LANGSTON, Okla. — Langston University hasn’t always gone by the same name, but it has had the same purpose since it was founded in 1897. Originally the Colored Agricultural and Normal University was founded at a time when African Americans couldn’t attend Oklahoma Universities.
“We know, as my family is an example, it changes not only that graduates life, but it can change the trajectory of that whole family, " says Dr. Emily Patterson-Harris, Dean of Education Behavioral Sciences at Langston.
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She says her grandma and oldest aunt attended Langston under it’s original name, in the midst of the Great Depression.
“It really started our family on a path of higher education,” Dr. Patterson-Harris said.
The Oklahoma Historical Society says in its early days Langston provided African Americans with an industrial and agricultural curriculum, a normal or teacher’s college, and a liberal arts curriculum, all with less funding than many Oklahoma institutions that provided just one of these missions.
Fast forward 125 years and Langston remains Oklahoma’s only Historically Black College and University (HBCU). According to collegefactual.com, around 80% of Langston’s full-time undergraduates in 2021 were black, many of them, first generation college students.
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Dr. Patterson-Harris says many of the schools programs have put Langston on the map.
“Our goat research is known globally,” she said.
The University’s goat research, looking at nutrition, grazing patterns and climate change, has been recognized by the Kenyan government for its potential to improve the economy.