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Former names | Athens Female College (1857–1866) East Tennessee Wesleyan College (1866–1967) East Tennessee Wesleyan University (1867–1886) Grant Memorial University (1886–1889) U.S. Grant Memorial University (1889–1906) Athens School of the University of Chattanooga (1906–1925) Tennessee Wesleyan College (1925–2016) |
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Motto | Lux et Veritas |
Motto in English | Light and Truth |
Type | Private university |
Established | 1857 |
Religious affiliation | United Methodist Church |
Academic affiliations | NAICU [1] IAMSCU |
President | Dr. Tyler Forrest |
Academic staff | 184 |
Students | 1,052 |
Location | , U.S. 35°26′43″N84°35′40″W / 35.4453°N 84.5944°W |
Campus | Small city |
Colors | Blue & White |
Nickname | Bulldogs |
Sporting affiliations | NAIA – Appalachian |
Website | www |
Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) is a private Methodist university in Athens, Tennessee. It was founded in 1857 and is affiliated with the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. It maintains a branch campus in Knoxville, where it offers evening programs in business administration. It also conducts its nursing classes in Knoxville.
Tennessee Wesleyan was founded in 1857 as Athens Female College. It consisted solely of one building (now Old College). In 1866 the name was altered to East Tennessee Wesleyan College, and in 1867 it became East Tennessee Wesleyan University. At that time, the college was one of only a handful of coeducational colleges in the Southern United States.
In 1886, college president John F. Spence changed the name to Grant Memorial University [2] in an attempt to receive financial support from Northern benefactors. [3] In 1889, it merged with Chattanooga University to form U.S. Grant Memorial University [4] (U.S. Grant University; U.S. being Grant's given names), becoming the consolidated university's Athens branch campus. Seventeen years later (1906), it was renamed the Athens School of the University of Chattanooga.
In 1925, the college split from Chattanooga to become Tennessee Wesleyan College and served as a junior college. Tennessee Wesleyan became a liberal arts college in 1957 when it began awarding bachelor's degrees.
In February 2016, the school announced that they would change their name to Tennessee Wesleyan University, effective July 1, 2016. The decision would be the first name change for the school in 91 years.
Tennessee Wesleyan University has articulation agreements with Chattanooga State Community College, Cleveland State Community College, Motlow State Community College, Pellissippi State Community College, Roane State Community College, and Walters State Community College.
Tennessee Wesleyan University offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in Behavioral Science, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Communication, Criminal Justice, Early Human Development and Learning, Education, English, Exercise Science, Fine Art (Visual Art and Theatre), Music, individualized majors, History, Human Services, International Studies, Mathematics, Nursing, Psychology, Church Vocations, Pre-Seminary, Sociology, Social Work, and Special Education.
Academic rankings | |
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National | |
U.S. News & World Report [5] | 16 (Regional colleges South) |
Tennessee Wesleyan University accepts 62% of all applicants and is considered "selective" by U.S. News & World Report. [6]
The Tennessee Wesleyan athletic teams are called the Bulldogs. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) since the 2001–02 academic year. [7] [8]
Tennessee Wesleyan competes in 21 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, track & field and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading and eSports.
The university's baseball team has won the NAIA World Series 2 times (2012, 2019) as well as 24 conference championships and 12 conference tournament championships. [9]
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The oldest campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.
Iowa Wesleyan University was a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. It was Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution was affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It closed at the end of the 2022–23 academic year due to financial challenges.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System.
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.
West Virginia Wesleyan College is a private college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It has an enrollment of about 900 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is currently affiliated with the United Methodist Church. West Virginia Wesleyan College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) is a private Methodist university in Mitchell, South Dakota. It was founded in 1885 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The student body averages slightly fewer than 800 students. The campus of the university is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Texas Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Its mascot is the ram.
The Volunteer State Athletic Conference (VSAC) was a college athletic conference which was predominantly for smaller colleges in the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Lourdes University is a private Franciscan university in Sylvania, Ohio. Established in 1958, the university is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania.
The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Members of the conference are located in the Southeastern United States in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Southern Wesleyan University is a private Christian university in Central, South Carolina. It was founded in 1906 by what is now the Wesleyan Church. The institution is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
Kansas Wesleyan University is a private Christian university in Salina, Kansas, founded in 1886. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It has about 800 students and a 28-acre (11 ha) campus.
North Greenville University is a private Baptist liberal arts college in Tigerville, South Carolina. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and awards bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
The Alabama–Huntsville Chargers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Alabama in Huntsville, located in Huntsville, Alabama, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Chargers have primarily competed in the Gulf South Conference since the 1993–94 academic year.
The Saint Mary Spires are the athletic teams that represent the University of Saint Mary, located in Leavenworth, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) since the 1999–2000 academic year. The Spires previously competed in the defunct Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) from 1994–95 to 1998–99. Their team colors are navy and gold.
The Lourdes Gray Wolves are the athletic teams that represent Lourdes University, located in Sylvania, Ohio, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) for most of its sports since the 2011–12 academic year; while its men's wrestling team competes in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). The Gray Wolves previously competed as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) during the 2010–11 school year.
The Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters are the athletic teams that represent Lincoln Memorial University, located in Harrogate, Tennessee, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Railsplitters compete as members of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) for most varsity sports, although the bowling team competes in the Conference Carolinas (CC) and the men's volleyball program plays as an independent. Field hockey and men's wrestling, two of three sports to be added in 2021–22, will compete in South Atlantic Conference Carolinas, an alliance between the SAC and CC that operates in those two sports, with the SAC operating the field hockey championship and CC operating the men's wrestling championship. LMU will thus become a de facto CC men's wrestling affiliate at that time. The third sport to be added in 2021–22 is women's wrestling, newly added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program for 2020–21.
The Flagler Saints are the athletic teams that represent Flagler College, located in St. Augustine, Florida, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Peach Belt Conference since the 2009–10 academic year.
The Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Tennessee Wesleyan University, located in Athens, Tennessee, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) since the 2001–02 academic year. The Bulldogs were at once point in the now-defunct Smoky Mountain Conference, having joined in 1956.
The Reinhardt Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Reinhardt University, located in Waleska, Georgia, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) since the 2009–10 academic year. They were also a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the South Region of the Division I level from 1999–2000 to 2000–01. The Eagles previously competed in the Southern States Athletic Conference from 2000–01 to 2008–09. Prior joining the NAIA, Reinhardt was also a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and of the National Small College Athletic Association (NSCAA) until after the 1998–99 school year.
It was during [Spence's] administration that the name of the school was changed first to Grant Memorial University, and then three years later to U. S. Grant University at the time of its consolidation with Chattanooga University.
In an effort to secure financial support for the deeply indebted Southern college from Northern states and benefactors, the institution's president in 1886, John F. Spence, changed the name to Grant Memorial University and then to U.S. Grant Memorial University in 1889.
[Pre-merger name:] Grant Memorial University (1886-1889); [post-merger:] U.S. Grant Memorial University (1889-1906)