Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), a member of the Texas A&M University System, is located in Prairie View, Texas. Recognized as the state’s second oldest institution of higher education, it focuses on the land grant mission of achieving excellence in teaching, research, and service. This four-year, state-assisted, coeducation college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. PVAMU marked its beginning during the Reconstruction Era of the Civil War, as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youths in 1876. The classes began in 1878, with eight black men, who were the first blacks to enroll in a state-supported school in the state. In 1889, it became Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College, and was honored as a Land Grant College, under the Morrill Act, 1890. The college’s name was again changed to Prairie View University in 1945 and then to Prairie View A&M College of Texas by the 49th and 50th Texas Legislature. On August 27, 1973, the college adopted the title Prairie View A&M University, and meanwhile turned into an independent unit of Texas A&M University System. PVAMU delivers baccalaureate degrees in 39 academic majors, 31 master’s degrees, and four doctoral degree programs. The university is composed of nine academic units: colleges of Agriculture and Human Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, Juvenile Justice and Psychology, Nursing, and School of Architecture and the Graduate School. Prairie View is the only Historically Black College and University in the state to confer an Army ROTC program. In addition, it offers a number of undergraduate and graduate degree programs at distant sites. PVAMU’s 1,400 acres of residential campus is located in Waller County, around 40 miles northwest of [2089:Houston. John B. Coleman Library is the central resource for all the academic programs.