Hiwassee College was a private college in Madisonville, Tennessee. Founded in 1849, the college offered associate degrees as well as bachelor's degrees. The majority of its associate degree graduates went on to complete bachelor's degrees elsewhere. The college closed on May 10, 2019, due to financial issues.[1]
Hiwassee College's predecessor, an all-boys school, Tullagalla Academy, was founded in 1826.[2] Its original home was 5 miles away from the present campus. In 1845, after enrollment had grown too large for its location, the school moved to the Methodist Bat Creek Campground. After the departure of the academy's director in 1848, five Methodists came together to reorganize the school as a college in the same location. Hiwassee College was officially organized in 1849, making it the oldest private two-year college in Tennessee until its closure in 2019.[2] Despite its Methodist roots, the college's first president was Presbyterian Robert E. Doak. The college's first valedictorian was David M. Key, the future United States Postmaster General and U.S. Senator from Tennessee.[3]
In 1854, John Hamilton Brunner became the second president of Hiwassee College.[4] Brunner made the decision to close the college from 1861 to 1865 during the Civil War. In 1870, Francis Grace became president of the college; however, Brunner returned in 1872 and remained president until 1883.
During most of the 1880s, Hiwassee was associated with Victoria College for women in nearby Sweetwater, Tennessee.[4] In 1891, Sidney Gilbreath would become president. Under his tenure, the college would be opened to women in 1894. In 1899, he was succeeded by Joseph E. Lowry. Under his tenure, Lawrence Hall dormitory was added and the college officially affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Electricity was first available on campus in 1917 and which Massey home, the New Administration building, and Key Chapel were all built. In 1924, Martin Reedy took over as president and oversaw the construction of the Gymnasium. Under the tenure of President Rudy Youell, the dining hall, Rawlings home, and Rymer Hall were built.[4]
In 1955, Dr. Horace N. Barker became president of the college.[5] Under his leadership, most of the current buildings on campus were constructed including the Lundy Science Hall (1961), the Rudy Youell Physical Education Facility (1965), Allison Hall dormitory (1965), Tom Black Hall dormitory (1965), the Barker Learning Center (1969), and Buckner Memorial Chapel (1969).[6] The Barker Learning Center is named for him[7] He retired in 1980. During Barker's tenure, Dr. James H. Amburgey served as the academic dean at the college. Upon Barker's retirement, Amburgey became the college president and served until 1984.[8] Following Amburgey was Dr. Stephen Fritz.[9]
In 2011, Dr. Robin Tricoli was named the 22nd President of Hiwassee College.[15] Under her tenure, the college attained full accreditation through TRACS in October 2013 and reaffirmed in 2018.
Although closely tied to the Methodist Church since its founding, it was not until 1908 that the Trustees of Hiwassee College and the Holston Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South entered into an agreement for joint operation of the institution. Hiwassee College came under the complete control and ownership of the Methodist Church-South in 1937, shortly before its reunion with its northern counterpart in 1939. Prior to 1980, the three United Methodist-related colleges in the Holston Conference (a geographic region that includes East Tennessee and small parts of southwest Virginia and north Georgia) were governed by a unified board of trustees. In 1980, the Board of Trustees established a separate Board of Governors for each institution, and by 1990, each of the three colleges operated under a separate, independent board of trustees.
Closure and aftermath
The college closed on May 10, 2019 due to financial issues.[1] Students and alumni protested the announcement of the closure and many parents of enrolled students raised concerns about the lack of communication from the board of trustees. Neighboring colleges, including Maryville College, Pellissippi State Community College, and South College offered students transfer assistance.[16]
The Hiwassee College Alumni Association Inc. (HCAA) submitted a non-cash offer for the college and its debt in July 2019 with hopes of reopening the college.[17] The campus was put up for sale on January 2, 2020 for $8.6 million dollars.[18] The offering Memorandum states, "The Trustees of Hiwassee College now intend to divest the real property owned by the college, and as such are offering the property for sale."[19]
In January 2020, a former trustee of the college, William Harmon, a Maryville, Tennessee doctor, sued the college for return of his $100,000 donation earmarked for construction of a new library which was to be named in his honor. According to its website, Harmon was the college's board of trustees secretary.[20] Harmon wants the Monroe County, Tennessee Chancery Court to find that the donation must paid back to him once the college sells.[21] In light of the suit, the Comptroller of the Treasury of Tennessee conducted an investigation of the college.[22] The investigative report found "operating deficiencies related to disbursements, travel reimbursements, and the release of restrictions on monetary gifts."
The land and buildings were listed for sale[23] with an asking price of $6 million.[6] They were sold to the Bruderhof in late 2020.[24][25]
Campus
Hiwassee College's campus grew from the original 7 acres (28,000m2) donated by Reverend Daniel B. Carter to a campus comprising 18 buildings situated on 60 acres (240,000m2) of a 400-acre (1,600,000m2) tract of land located one mile (1.6km) north of the town of Madisonville.
Organization and administration
Hiwassee College was listed by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. The Senate is an elected body of professionals in higher education created by the General Conference to determine which schools, colleges, universities, and theological schools meet the criteria for listing as institutions affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
The Hiwassee athletic teams were called the Tigers. The college was a member of the Division I ranks of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) until after the 2018–19 academic year. The school competed as an Independent in the Mideast Region.[26]
Hiwassee competed in 12 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports included baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, shooting and soccer; while women's sports included basketball, cross country, cheerleading, soccer, softball and volleyball.
Madisonville is the county seat of Monroe County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in East Tennessee on the eastern border of the state. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 5,132.
Meharry Medical College is a private historically black medical school affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College, it was the first medical school for African Americans in the South. While the majority of African Americans lived in the South, they were excluded from many public and private racially segregated institutions of higher education, particularly after the end of Reconstruction.
Spring Arbor University (SAU) is a private Free Methodist university in Spring Arbor, Michigan. Developing from an earlier academy and junior college, in 1963 it began offering bachelor's degrees. Attaining university status in 1994, it is the second-largest evangelical Christian university in Michigan. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Knoxville College is an unaccredited private historically black college in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1875 by the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The college is a United Negro College Fund member school.
Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Lee University is a private Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was founded in 1918 as the Church of God Bible Training School with twelve students and one teacher, Nora I. Chambers. The school grew to become Lee College, with a Bible college and junior college on its current site, in 1948. Twenty years later, Lee received accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a four-year liberal arts college. In 1997, Lee became a university; it now offers master's degrees as well as undergraduate degrees.
Lambuth University was a private Methodist university in Jackson, Tennessee. It was active from 1843 to 2011 and was supported by the Memphis Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. The university began as the Memphis Conference Female Institute in 1843 and was later renamed in honor of Walter Russell Lambuth (1854–1921), a Methodist missionary who traveled globally.
Bennett College is a private historically black liberal arts college for women in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1873 as a normal school to educate freedmen and train both men and women as teachers. Originally coed, in 1926 it became a four-year women's college. It is one of two historically black colleges that enroll only women, the other being Spelman College.
The University of Tennessee Southern is a public college in Pulaski, Tennessee. Founded in 1870, for over 150 years it was a private institution until joining the University of Tennessee system in 2021. For many years it was a junior college but is now a baccalaureate institution providing more than thirty academic majors. The college also has an MBA program.
Johnson University Florida was a private Christian university in Kissimmee, Florida. It was part of the Johnson University system with its main campus outside Knoxville, Tennessee, and an online campus. It was affiliated with the Independent Christian Church of the Restoration Movement. The campus was closed in 2024.
The University of Tennessee System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of two public university systems, the other being the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR). It consists of four primary campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Pulaski and Martin; a health sciences campus in Memphis; a research institute in Tullahoma; and various extensions throughout the state.
Tusculum University is a private Presbyterian university with its main campus in Tusculum, Tennessee. It is Tennessee's first university and the 28th-oldest operating college or university in the United States.
Johnson University is a private Christian university headquartered in Kimberlin Heights, Tennessee, with an additional campus in Kissimmee, Florida. Rooted in the tenets of the Restoration Movement, it maintains affiliation with the Christian churches and churches of Christ.
Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Americans.
Ferrum College is a private college in Ferrum, Virginia. The college was established in 1913 as the Ferrum Training School for primary and secondary education to serve the mountain communities of rural Southwest Virginia.
Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, business administration, and education through residential, commuter, and off-site programs. The college is accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS).
Morristown College was an African American higher education institution located in Morristown, the seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee. It was founded in 1881 by the national Freedman's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The school was renamed Knoxville College-Morristown Campus in 1989 and closed in 1996. Prior to the civil rights movement, the college held the distinction of being one of only two institutions in East Tennessee for African Americans, the other being Knoxville College, founded in 1875.
Carolina University (CU), formerly Piedmont International University (PIU), is a private Christian university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Carolina University offers both residential and online programs including dual enrollment, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. It is accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) and is a member of the American Association of Christian Schools (AACS).
James A. Colston (1910–1982) was a high school principal and served as president of several colleges in the United States. He served as president of Bethune-Cookman University 1942-46; Georgia State College 1947-51; and Knoxville College 1951-65. He became the first African American to serve as president of a college in the state of New York and was among the first to lead a predominantly white college when he was named president of the Bronx Community College in 1966.
Charlotte Christian College and Theological Seminary is a private evangelical Christian college and seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was established in 1996 by Eddie G. Grigg, a pastor, educator, and theologian. The institution was approved as a degree-granting institution in 1997, granted candidate for accreditation status in 2003, and was fully accredited in 2008.
↑ "TRACS Institutions". Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
