Langston University is based in the central Oklahoma town from which it takes its name, and is the only historically black institution in the state. The town and university are named for John Mercer Langston, an abolitionist who became the first black congressman from Virginia, and was the great uncle to poet Langston Hughes.
Langston is divided into six colleges and a graduate education programme. Highly renowned is the Agriculture & Applied Sciences college for both its teaching and research. The college offers studies in fields such as Family & Consumer Sciences, Natural Resources, and Aquaculture. The de la Garza American Institute for Goat Research is considered a world leader in goat production technologies.
There is also a college campus based in Tulsa, which offers graduate programmes in Education, Rehabilitation, and Physical Therapy. In 2016 Langston University relocated its Oklahoma City campus to to the former Millwood Arts Academy, as part of a collaboration agreement offering higher education opportunities for students in the surrounding area.
There are three men’s varsity teams and five women’s at Langston, as well a women’s cheerleading squad. The Langston University Band is known as the Marching Pride, which offers leadership and music opportunities for students and previously won three consecutive Honda Battle of The Bands between 2005 and 2007.
The poet Melvin Tolson taught at Langston for seventeen years. Alumni of Langston include the first African American to hold an international pilot license Bessie Coleman, lawyer and important civil rights figure Ada Fisher, and basketball player Marques Haynes.
