Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, and becoming a land-grant college in 1890, KSU is the second-oldest state-supported institution of higher learning in Kentucky.

[5] Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the commencement speech at the 1957 graduation ceremonies titled, "Facing the Challenge of a New Age".

[2] The Paul G. Blazer Library,[25] constructed in 1960,[26] houses a collection of more than 700,000 items includes extensive reference, periodical, and circulating collections of materials such as books, videos, microforms, sound recordings, and others, to aid students in their course work and research.

[29] The research program was started in 1990 with the aim of developing pawpaw as a new tree-fruit crop for Kentucky.

[30][31] Pawpaw is the largest native fruit in the United States and has very few diseases compared to other orchard crops.

Research activities include germplasm collection and variety trials, and efforts are directed towards improving propagation, understanding fruit ripening and storage, and developing orchard management practices.

KYSU has created the three cultivars 'KSU-Atwood', 'KSU-Benson', and 'KSU-Chappell', with focus on better flavors, higher yields, vigorous plants, and low seed-to-pulp ratios.

[33][34][35][36][37] Kentucky State University teams participate as a member of the Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, and indoor and outdoor track and field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball, and volleyball.