Campus History

Originally founded in 1876 as a department of Central Tennessee College, Meharry Medical College was granted a separate charter of incorporation in 1915. The college was named to honor five Irish brothers, Samuel, Hugh, Alexander, Jesse, and David Meharry. They gave more than $30,000 in cash and real estate to fund an institution that would educate medical professionals to serve the black community. By the mid-20th century, Meharry Medical College graduated approximately half the black doctors in the United States. The evolution of Meharry Medical College is a compelling story that occurs during succeeding eras. In many ways, its evolution reflects the changing tides of race relations in America. Nearly 150 years later, Meharry continues to be a significant medical institution that holds true to its motto: "Dedicated to the worship of God through service to man."

The school that eventually became the University of Tennessee was founded as one of the first three colleges established west of the Appalachians.

In 1794, two years before Tennessee even became a state, the legislature of the Southwest Territory established Blount College with a charter, and the small school struggled with a tiny student body and even smaller staff before changing its name to East Tennessee College in 1807. As the college grew, the trustees of the school scouted potential sites in Knoxville, settling on the site affectionately called "The Hill'? in 1828, and changing its name once again in 1840 to East Tennessee University. During the Civil War, classes came to an abrupt halt as students and faculty were recruited to serve on battlefields, and troops used campus facilities as hospitals and barracks. With a final name change in 1879, the University of Tennessee has exploded in growth in the 20th century, with campuses and programs across the state. In addition to a rich sports tradition, the University of Tennessee is considered one of the best colleges in the Southeast, and among the best institutions of higher learning in the country.

Milligan College began as an early 1800s community effort to educate young people in Northeast Tennessee, and it has grown to serve individuals from around the globe. Established by church members along the waters of Buffalo Creek between Johnson City and Elizabethton, the school sought to equip its pupils to become productive citizens with a mission-minded worldview. Its graduates have had positive influences throughout the world as servant leaders, and Milligan remains committed to the development of intellect, body, and spirit, with a devotion to personal attention and a Christian, liberal arts education. The institution has grown from a single creek-side building with a handful of students to a beautiful, extensive campus offering more than 25 majors, master's programs, and degree completion options to over 1,100 traditional and nontraditional students. US News & World Report consistently recognizes Milligan as one of "America's Best Colleges."

This pictorial history of Carson-Newman College illustrates the people, places, and events that have shaped this institution's legacy.

Carson-Newman College, a private, Christian liberal arts college, is located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of Knoxville. In the early 1840s, a number of Baptist leaders desired to offer better-prepared ministers to area congregations. Afforded the use of a local Baptist church building, Mossy Creek Missionary Baptist Seminary opened to students in the fall of 1851. In 1880, the school was named Carson College and for several years existed alongside Newman College, a separate facility for the education of women. In 1889, the two colleges united as one of the first coeducational Baptist institutions. As Carson-Newman College celebrates 160 years of rich history steeped in the ideals of truth, beauty, and goodness, it continues to prepare students academically and spiritually to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Experience the long and storied past of the University of Memphis in this pictorial history told through the lens of over 200 vintage images.

The 100-year transformation of the University of Memphis from a small teacher-training school to a major metropolitan research university is chronicled in Campus History Series: University of Memphis. The West Tennessee Normal School was established in 1912 to provide high school diplomas and teacher credentials to predominately female students. In 1925, the school dropped its high school classes and became the West Tennessee State Teachers College. The institution became a full liberal arts college, Memphis State College, in 1941. Huge gains in postwar enrollment pushed the institution toward university status, which was achieved in 1957. Memphis State University experienced rapid growth, expanding from barely 6,000 students to over 22,000 as the baby boomers came of age. Then, in 1994, signaling its growing stature as a major metropolitan university, the institution was renamed the University of Memphis.

In January of 1866, with the devastation of the Civil War far from assuaged in the slowly recuperating South, Fisk University made its home in abandoned Federal barracks near Nashville, Tennessee.

The entire region faced hardships after the conflict, but Southern blacks still encountered what seemed to be insurmountable obstacles, even after the emancipation of slaves. Within five years of its opening, Fisk was in such a dire financial situation, many expected its closure; however, in an effort to raise funds for the university, Professor George L. White and nine students traveled the country performing in a musical ensemble known as the Jubilee Singers. Their hard-won rise to fame led them to the White House where they performed for President Ulysses S. Grant, and the money they earned touring the country literally saved Fisk. The spirit of the first Jubilee Singers lives on at Fisk today, but it is a university much different than the one that opened in 1866. Today Fisk is an institution fully equipped for the challenges of the future, noted for its excellence in academics, and celebrated for the achievements of its distinguished alumni. Whether in the classroom, on the playing field, or on stage, Fisk students and faculty are torchbearers of achievement in all areas of life. It is their unyielding determination that is celebrated within these pages, as the university's history comes to life in vintage photographs. Early classrooms, beloved professors, civic and social organizations, sporting events, famed alumni, and the Jubilee Singers are all included in this retrospective.

Middle Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 as a two-year training school for teachers and has since evolved through myriad changes--in name, in size, in administration, and in academic and athletic resources. Change has also swept through the campus with the ebb and tide of the American climate during some of the twentieth century's most turbulent eras, including World Wars I and II, the New Deal period, and the Civil Rights Movement. What has remained steadfast through the years at this revered Tennessee institution is a commitment to excellence, and a faculty, staff, and student body in constant pursuit of the rewards of higher education. Located on a 500-acre campus in Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee State University boasts a wide array of opportunities for a student population of nearly 20,000. Courses in everything from agriscience to aerospace, from criminal justice to the recording industry offer budding scholars a chance to explore a wide variety of disciplines, while they also enjoy participating in team sports, academic societies, and social organizations. Within
these pages, students, alumni, and friends of the university will travel down memory lane through a unique photographic tribute to the Blue Raiders. Images of dormitories in the 1920s, World War II campus drills, the first Greek organizations, General MacArthur's visit, homecoming floats, band performances, and early sports teams illuminate the school's colorful history.

First established as the University of Dixie in 1909, Tennessee Technological University has grown into a flourishing, internationally recognized university, known for its emphasis on engineering, science, and sophisticated technology. Nestled in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains in Cookeville, Tennessee, TTU has a remarkable history and has triumphed over many obstacles and changes in the last century. In the early 1900s, the institute enrolled high school students as well as college students and operated this way for several years. In 1915, the school became Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and in 1927, TPI awarded its first college degrees and closed the high school program. In 1965, President Everett Derryberry implemented the school's final name change. Tennessee Technological University, containing over 200 black-and-white images, explores the school's unique history, from its birth in 1909 to its present-day success as a top-rated university with more than 8,500 students. Commemorated here are the ambitious and determined series of presidents and faculty members responsible for the school's ultimate success; the noteworthy alumni--including an astronaut, Fortune 500 CEOs, and world-renowned researchers; the athletes responsible for the school's history of trophies and championships; and many others who have molded TTU into the outstanding institution it is today.

East Tennessee State University (ETSU), located in Johnson City, was founded in 1911 as East Tennessee State Normal School to provide teachers for the state's public schools. The institution originally offered two courses of study: a four-year high school program and a two-year normal school curriculum, which initially enrolled 29 students. Today ETSU serves more than 14,000 students and offers over 100 undergraduate programs, 75 master's programs, and a dozen areas of doctoral study. The university is organized into 11 colleges and schools. Approximately 700 full-time faculty members, 80 percent of whom hold doctorates, serve the institution's students. Indicative of embracing its Appalachian heritage and location, the university boasts several unique programs, which include bluegrass studies and storytelling. While ETSU offers all the opportunities and resources of any large university, it also has many advantages typically found only in small colleges.

The Webb School of Bell Buckle is the oldest continuously operating boarding school in the South. In Culleoka, Tennessee, in 1870, William Robert "Sawney" Webb Sr. founded the school, and classes were taught in the basement of a Methodist church. Webb's brother, John Maurice, joined as coprincipal in 1873. Having family ties to the town of Bell Buckle, the Webbs moved the school to its permanent home in 1886. With Sawney known for his drive and discipline and John known for his "saintly character, deep learning, and the gift of imparting it," according to Vanderbilt University professor emeritus Edwin Mims (Webb School class of 1888), the brothers were a powerful force in education and later became founding members of the Southern Association of Independent Schools. In addition to 10 Rhodes Scholars, the school has produced governors, university presidents, diplomats, CEOs, actors, artists, and several award-winning authors. The Webb School celebrates its sesquicentennial in 2020.

Columbia State Community College is proud to have the distinction of being the first community college created in Tennessee. Construction of the new campus began in October 1965, and the first director of admissions, W.O. Johnson, was able to offer a schedule of classes for the fall of 1966. The first class of 363 students met in various buildings around Columbia. When the campus was completed in 1967, Lady Bird and Lyndon B. Johnson were on hand for the dedication. Decades later, Columbia State Community College continues to be at the forefront of the state's educational system and provides a nurturing environment for its students.

This pictorial history of Columbia State Community College was published in conjunction with the college's 40th anniversary. The authors were careful to select a variety of images that depict the evolution of the Columbia campus, as well as its centers and sites, and provide readers with an enjoyable volume.

A few years prior to Tennessee's induction into statehood, two pioneering Presbyterian ministers, Hezekiah Balch and Samuel Doak, both educated at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton), formed schools in the fledgling United States' southwestern frontier, now known as East Tennessee. Besides enriching the early Scotch-Irish settlers' spiritual life, Balch and Doak were also devoted to addressing their educational needs. Hezekiah Balch established Greeneville College, which became a reality in September 1794 after an act by the General Assembly of the Territory of the United States South of the Ohio River. Tusculum College, founded as an academy in 1818 by Samuel Doak and his son, Samuel Witherspoon Doak, merged with Greeneville College in 1868 to become the Greeneville and Tusculum College. In the early part of the twentieth century, the college dropped the "Greeneville" portion of its name, and thus developed modern-day Tusculum College.
This unique visual history traces the college's roots from its earliest beginnings as two separate educational institutions through the late twentieth century. Containing over 190 black-and-white photographs, this volume captures the Tusculum experience, from highlighting its famous presidents and faculty members, to showcasing the dramatic changes of the campus over the years, to exploring the variety of activities in which Tusculum students participated over the decades. Readers will thoroughly enjoy remembering their own college experiences at this historic institution as they read the different stories and thumb through the images of early classrooms, social groups, sporting events, and local hangouts.

Students, alumni, and friends of Lambuth University recollect with fond memory the many accomplishments of the school throughout its history, from its early days as a female institution through its growth as a university. Located in the West Tennessee city of Jackson, Lambuth reaffirms the Wesleyan emphasis on the necessity for academic excellence and authentic faith. Since 1843, when it began as the Memphis Conference Female Institute, the institution has recognized the interdependence of education and religion. As a university committed to the liberal arts, Lambuth provides resources and encouragement for students to reach an understanding of the cultural heritage of people throughout the world that will broaden their perspectives, enrich their personalities, and enable them to think and act wisely. The university provides a congenial atmosphere where people of all faiths work together to fully develop their total lives.