FORT VALLEY, Ga.

 The long list academic programs shutting down at Fort Valley State University may seem like a death sentence for the public historically Black institution, but it's actually part of the school's plans for a revival.

With a new president at the helm, Fort Valley has emerged from a $2.5 million budget deficit by shuttering 12 programs and revamping the remaining offerings.

The university is boosting its once plummeting enrollment by hundreds with an expansive recruitment program, posh new apartment-style dorms and promises of a bright future.

``Some folks told me they had put Fort Valley on life support, that it was on its way to withering up,'' said President Larry E. Rivers, a Fort Valley State graduate who took charge 18 months ago. ``It's a new day in the valley.''

Fort Valley, like many other public historically Black colleges, is still recovering from the deep imprint racial politics left on the nation's higher education system, said Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund and former chairman of the Fulton County Commission.

After years of living in the shadow of their majority White counterparts, historically Black institutions are working aggressively to draw students, he said.

``They were underfunded, and they didn't have the facilities,'' Lomax said. ``Historically black colleges have had to redefine themselves, to make sure they had the resources to upgrade and create.''

At the same time, the competition for Black students has increased as colleges nationwide try to improve diversity by recruiting more minorities. Historically Black colleges now have to fight for the students who once had no other choices.

``What integration did ... was it gave our students an opportunity to be selective,'' said Dwayne Ashley, president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which provides support for public historically Black colleges.