The Katherine Johnson Statue at West Virginia State University (WVSU) honors the legendary NASA mathematician whose brilliant calculations launched America into orbit. Unveiled on August 25, 2018—the eve of her 100th birthday—this life-sized bronze monument stands proudly at her alma mater to ensure her contributions to the Space Race are “no longer hidden”.
Katherine Johnson was one of the critical human “computers” at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which later became NASA. She is globally celebrated for several monumental milestones
Long before Hollywood spotlighted her in the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures, Katherine Johnson was a math prodigy growing up in segregated West Virginia. Because local schools barred African American students past the eighth grade, her family moved 100 miles to Institute, WV so she could attend the high school on WVSU’s campus at age 10. She graduated high school at 15, entered the college at 14, and graduated summa cum laude with degrees in Mathematics and French at just 18 years old.
She hand-calculated the trajectory for America’s very first human spaceflight, piloted by Alan Shepard in 1961.
The statue is located directly on the central campus quad, in a plaza specifically designed in her honor. It sits outdoors between the Thomas W. Cole Jr. Complex and Dawson Hall.
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August 5, 2026
