Out of State Chapters

Great news! Azurest South receives National Historic Landmark Designation

17 December 2023

Great news! Azurest South has received a National Historic Landmark designation from the Department of the Interior. It was one of 19 recently announced newly National Historic Landmarks. Located on VSU's campus between the L. Douglas Wilder Cooperative Extension Building and the J.B. Bolling "ROTC" Building, Azurest South is the official Alumni House for the Virginia State University Alumni Association.

Completed in 1939 by VSU alumna Amaza Lee Meredith (1895-1984), one of the nation's first documented African American female architects, Azurest South is a significant landmark of African American material culture and design. It showcases Ms. Meredith's courage in presenting non-traditional ideas in the public eye at the state's first land-grant college for African Americans. In 1993, Azurest South was listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register, and in 1994, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, in 2001, it was documented during Women's Month by the National Register of Historic Places.

Azurest South is a gem and treasure for the Alumni Association and the University.

VSUAA President on the Move

20 November 2023

VSUAA President Laurie Carpenter recently met with campus leaders representing SGA, Staff Senate, Faculty Senate, and President Abdullah. Engagement and collaboration are in the works!

VSU Trojan Explosion $40 for Forty Campaign

16 November 2023

In celebration of the rich marching band history at Virginia State University and Homecoming 2024, you are encouraged to participate in the Trojan Explosion 40 for Forty Campaign. Donate a gift in support of scholarships for deserving band students. You are being asked to donate $40 or multiples thereof for the number of years that the band has been known as the Trojan Explosion, the name given to the band in 1984 by Mr. Harold "Big Whistle" Haughton, Band Director Emeritus.

If you are a former band member or VSC/VSU alumnus, love to watch and hear our marching band perform, or want to help a student attend and graduate from VSU or all of the above, we ask for your support. Any amount given will be appreciated as we seek to raise an additional $40,000 for scholarships.

The campaign will include monthly contests, challenges, recognitions, and prize drawings.

To donate online, visit www.bit.ly/vsutx40for40

Make checks payable to:

Trojan Explosion Booster Association
1726 Hungary Road
Henrico, VA 23228

Put 40 for 40 in the Memo Line

VSU Class of 1980

12 February 2023

Class of 1980

The VSU Class of 1980 proudly had a float in the 2024 VSU Homecoming Parade. Classmates on the float were Gracie Quarles, Willie Elliott, Jr. Bryan Frazier., Stephanie Hicks- Willett, Larry Smith, Marcellus Dungee, Yvonne Humphries, Debra Patrick, Sadie Strong, Linda White, Rosalind Wilder- Simpson, Carolyn Young, and Theodore Gaines. These classmates also helped pay for the float but were unable to ride. Darnell Woods,,Dr. Renee Escoffery, Lanita Thweat, Barbara Williams, Doris Heath, and Dennis Snead.