Agriculture and Mechanical College for the Benefit of Colored Youth" as part of the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). It was established on the former Alta Vista Plantation.
In 1945, the name of the institution was changed from Prairie View Normal and Industrial College to Prairie View University, and the school was authorized to offer, "as need arises," all courses offered at the University of Texas. In 1947, the Texas Legislature changed the name to Prairie View A&M College of Texas and provided that "courses be offered in agriculture, the mechanics arts, engineering, and the natural sciences connected therewith, together with any other courses authorized at Prairie View at the time of passage of this act, all of which shall be equivalent to those offered at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas at Bryan." And finally in 1973, the legislature changed the name of the institution to Prairie View Agricultural & Mechanical University (Prairie View A&M University).
In …