Texas Southern University (shortened to Texas Southern, or simply TSU) is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States. TSU was established in 1927 as the Houston Colored Junior College, through its private college phase as Houston Colored College. On March 3, 1947, the state declared this to be the first state university in Houston, Texas State University for Negroes. In 1951, the name changed to Texas Southern University. Texas Southern is one of only four independent public universities in Texas (those not affiliated with any of Texas' six public university systems) and is one of the largest and most comprehensive HBCUs in the nation. As of October 2009, about 85% of TSU's students were African American. Fifty-four percent of law school students and 43% of pharmacy students were African American. During that year, the university's president, John Rudley, said that he would try to court Hispanics as students. The beginnings of Texas Southern University can be traced to the March 7, 1927 resolution by the Houston Independent School District school board to establish junior colleges for each race.