Winston-Salem State University


Winston-Salem State University is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina.

History

Slater Industrial School was the forerunner of Winston-Salem State University.

Academics

Winston-Salem State offers over 40 academic majors and 10 graduate degrees. The school enrolls approximately 5,200 students and employs 400 faculty and over 550 staff members.

Rankings

Winston-Salem State University was ranked the #7 top college in the United States by the Social Mobility Index college rankings.
Winston-Salem State has been ranked #27 by U.S. News & World Report in the Top Public Comprehensive Baccalaureate Colleges of the South category between 2001 to 2009. By 2016, the university had fallen to a ranking of #84 in the same category.

Library

C. G. O’Kelly Library is the main academic library on the campus of Winston-Salem State University, which was originally the Slater Industrial Academy. The original library was housed in Blair Hall until 1967 when the new library was built and O’Kelly Library has gone through two additions and one renovation within the past forty years.

Campus

The campus has more than 40 buildings covering. WSSU's Diggs Gallery was recognized as one of the top African-American galleries in its region.

Student activities

Athletics

Winston-Salem State University is currently a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association in NCAA Division II. From the 2007–08 season through the 2009–10 season, the Rams competed in the NCAA's Division I Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, despite being a transitional member that was attempting to attain full membership within the MEAC or within NCAA Division I, in which the Rams were also scheduled to begin full membership and gain access to NCAA tournaments in 2011. However, it never occurred due to financial difficulties.
Its colors are Scarlett and White and the university mascot is a ram.
In 1967, Winston-Salem State became the first Historically Black College to win an NCAA Basketball Championship. The Rams won the College Division Championship with a 31-1 record. They were led by high-scoring guard Earl Monroe, who averaged an amazing 41.5 points per game that season before being selected second overall in the 1967 NBA draft by the Baltimore Bullets.
Winston-Salem State played in the 2012 Division II National Championship football game on December 15, 2012. They lost, 35-7, to Valdosta State University, finishing the season, 14-1, the best of any historically black college/university. The team was led by head coach Connell Maynor and All-American quarterback Kameron Smith.
In August 2010, Winston-Salem State University reinstated their baseball program after a 37-year hiatus. Despite only being the first year of the program, the baseball team managed to win the CIAA Conference Championship and move on to the Atlantic Regional. The team again won the CIAA Conference Championship in 2012, 2013, and 2014, making that four consecutive conference championships in the first four years of the program. The team also achieved success in the 2013 season by earning the program's first ever national ranking of No. 23 in the country while also hosting the 2013 NCAA Atlantic Regional.

National fraternities and sororities

All of the National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations currently have active chapters at Winston-Salem State University except Delta Sigma Theta sorority, who were suspended for at least a 10-year period in April 2010. The remaining organizations are:
OrganizationSymbolChapterChapter Symbol
Alpha Kappa Alpha sororityΑΚΑGamma LambdaΓΛ
Alpha Phi Alpha fraternityΑΦΑBeta IotaΒΙ
Iota Phi Theta fraternityΙΦΘKappaΚ
Kappa Alpha Psi fraternityΚΑΨDelta ChiΔΧ
Omega Psi Phi fraternityΩΨΦMu EpsilonΜΕ
Phi Beta Sigma fraternityΦΒΣDelta AlphaΔΑ
Sigma Gamma Rho sororityΣΓΡRhoΡ
Zeta Phi Beta sororityΖΦΒOmegaΩ

Other National fraternities and sororities with registered chapters are members of the Council of Independent Greek Organizations. The current members on campus include:
OrganizationSymbolChapterChapter Symbol
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternityΦΜΑMu BetaΜΒ
Tau Beta Sigma honorary band sororityΤΒΣTheta UpsilonΘΥ
Kappa Kappa Psi honorary band fraternityΚΚΨKappa LambdaΚΛ
Pi Sigma Epsilon professional sales, marketing, and management fraternityΠΣΕZeta LambdaΖΛ
Alpha Nu Omega Christian sororityΑΝΩPiΠ
Kappa Omicron Tau sororityΚΟΤBeta LambdaΒΛ
Chi Eta Phi nursing sororityΧΗΦChi Chi BetaΧΧΒ
Alpha Phi Omega service fraternityΑΦΩTau ChiΤΧ
Swing Phi Swing social fellowshipSΦSGroove
Sigma Phi Omega National Academic Honor & Professional Society in GerontologyΣΦΩEpsilon AlphaΕΑ

Notable alumni