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Auburn University was founded in 1856 in Auburn, Alabama, but it hasn’t always had that name. Auburn University was originally named the East Alabama Male College and held that name until the first name change in 1872. Auburn then became the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama and operated under this namesake for nearly 30 years. In 1899, our university was renamed a second time to boast the name of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute. Finally, in 1960, Auburn University became the official name of our beloved university, keeping with its location, size, and mission. Let’s take a closer look at each one of these names.

East Alabama Male College (1856 – 1872)

In 1856, the Alabama legislature incorporated the East Alabama Male College in Auburn. When the East Alabama Male College officially opened in 1859, the preparatory division had 113 students, with the entire college supervised under the leadership of our first president Reverend William Jeremiah Sasnett. The East Alabama Male College had to close its doors during the Civil War to operate as a hospital, although the preparatory school remained open. After the college reopened, the East Alabama Male College fell on hard times financially and was unable to recover. This is when the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama was introduced and officially opened in 1872.

Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama (1872 – 1899)

In the year 1857, a congressman from Vermont, Justin S. Morrill, introduced a bill that we now know as the Land-Grant Act. This bill was eventually signed into law in 1862, granting each state 30,000 acres of public land for a college to be built. With the Morrill Act and the benefits that came along with its passing, the state of Alabama was awarded 240,000 acres of land to establish a college. In 1872, Auburn was selected as the new home of Alabama’s land-grant college.

Alabama Polytechnic Institute (1899 – 1960)

William Leroy Broun became the president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama in 1882. One of the recommendations he made as president was to change the name of the college to be called the Alabama Polytechnic Institute to encompass the “enlarged sphere of educational work.” Near the end of his tenure as president, the Alabama legislature successfully renamed the land-grant college, bearing the namesake of Alabama Polytechnic Institute or API as students have come to refer to the old name.

Auburn University (1960 – Present)

Ralph Brown Draughon became president in 1948, making him the school’s eleventh president. The GI Bill caused enrollment at API to double from the year 1944 to 1948, putting strain on the structure and mission of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute. This new president oversaw the expansion of API from the land-grant role to providing both undergraduate and graduate coursework for our complex world. To align itself closer to the central mission of the college, the Alabama legislature approved the final name change of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, officially becoming Auburn University in the year 1960.