Virginia State University not only will host October’s presidential debate, but also will serve as a polling location during the general election.

“For me, the debate is a way for all of us in the community to come together around a single vision,” said VSU President Makola M. Abdullah. “It speaks volumes about what we’re trying to do at Virginia State University.”

As the first HBCU to host a general election U.S. presidential debate, VSU will provide students and the community opportunities to learn about U.S. politics. The university also will engage as many students as possible.

“We are infusing numerous courses into our curriculum to align directly with the debate and the political process,” said Dr. Gwen Williams Dandridge, assistant vice president for communications at VSU. “We are holding voter registration at the majority of campus events, and we are planning events to incorporate grades K-12 into debate activities as we recognize the significance of this historic event.”

In February, VSU hosted a Zoom talk with Dr. Meldon Hollis, an advocate for HBCUs who served in Presidents Jimmy Carter’s and Barack Obama’s administrations.

In March, the university staged an HBCU Voter Empowerment Conference that featured political commentators Symone Sanders-Townsend, a host of MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” and Dr. Wendy Osefo, a professor at Johns Hopkins University and one of the stars of Bravo TV’s “The Real Housewives of Potomac.”