Jacksonville State University’s Little River Canyon Center Fort Payne, AL, United States

Imagine a mountain top river with beautiful waterfalls, cliffs, trails and spectacular views, all surrounded by 14,000 acres of biologically spectacular Southern forest. This is the Little River Canyon National Preserve in Northeast Alabama. It was added to the National Park System in 1992 and in 2007 Jacksonville State University built a facility to serve as a gateway to the Preserve. Known as the Little River Canyon Center, it is a place for education, culture and comfort. Visitors are encouraged to use the Canyon Center for information, maps, gifts, programs, concerts, snacks and especially information about the canyon’s biota. Enjoy and explore Little River Canyon!

Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a regional public coeducational university located in Jacksonville, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in five academic units leading to Bachelor’s, Master’s, Education Specialist, and Doctorate in addition to continuing and distance education programs. In the Fall semester of 2011, JSU began offering the school’s first doctoral degree, Doctor of Science in Emergency Management.

The university was founded as Jacksonville State Normal School, and in 1930 the name changed to Jacksonville State Teachers College, and again in 1957 to Jacksonville State College. The university began operating as Jacksonville State University in 1967. In 2008, the university celebrated its 125th anniversary.

JSU currently has an enrollment of nearly 9,000 students, with nearly 500 faculty members (more than 320 of whom are full-time). Jacksonville State’s Business School was ranked within the nation’s 90th percentile by the Princeton Review. The current University President is Dr. John M. Beehler.

Jacksonville State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In addition, 40 academic programs (79% of programs that can be accredited) earned specialized programmatic accreditations. These programs include business, education, engineering and technology, nursing, social work, drama, art, music, computer science, family and consumer science, and communication.

221 international students representing 73 countries were enrolled in the 2013-2014 academic year. The University has run its International House program, an international exchange program, for over 60 years.