Wiley University

Last updated
Wiley University
Wiley College seal.png
Former names
Wiley University (1873–1929)
Wiley College (1929-2023)
MottoGo Forth Inspired
Type Private historically black college
Established1873
Religious affiliation
United Methodist Church
Academic affiliations
UNCF
IAMSCU
CIC [1]
Endowment $27 million
Chairman Billy R. Casey
President Herman J. Felton Jr.
Provost Howard O. Gibson
Students698
Location,
U.S.

32°32′12″N94°22′45″W / 32.5367°N 94.3792°W / 32.5367; -94.3792
CampusRural, 134 acres (54 ha)
Colors Purple, Black, White & Gray
       
Nickname Wildcats
Sporting affiliations
NAIAHBCUAC
MascotWiley the Wildcat
Website wileyc.edu
Standard Nameplate Purple.png

Wiley University (formerly Wiley College) is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black colleges west of the Mississippi River. [2] [3]

Contents

In 2005–2006, on-campus enrollment approached 450, while an off-campus program in Shreveport, Louisiana, for students with some prior college credits who seek to finish a degree, enrolled about 250. By fall of 2006, total enrollment was about 750. By fall of 2013, total enrollment reached over 1,000. Wiley is an open admissions college and about 96% of students receive some financial aid. [4]

The college is known for its debate team. Over a 15-year period, Melvin B. Tolson's debate teams lost only one of 75 debates. Wiley's debate team competed against historically black colleges and earned national attention with its 1935 debate against University of Southern California's highly ranked debate team. [5]

On November 3, 2023, Wiley College announced a name change back to Wiley University for the first time since 1929 with the establishment of a new graduate school program to be offered to students beginning in 2024. [6]

Academics

Wiley University offers bachelor's degrees through four academic divisions. [7]

As of January 2024, Wiley will offer master's degrees in three fields of study. [8]

History

Wiley University, established in 1873 in Marshall, Texas, by the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. [9] [10] It is the oldest historically black college (or institute of higher education) west of the Mississippi River. [9] It was started as both a college and high school. [9]

In 1880, the campus was moved to a seventy-acre plot in downtown Marshall. [9] The former campus location was in south Marshall, near the remaining Wiley College Cemetery. [9] In 1888, Henry B. Pemberton was the first college graduate, he was awarded a B.A. degree. [9]

F.C. Moore was the first president, and for the first twenty years the president and all the faculty and staff, were church missionaries and were White. [9] The first African American president of Wiley University was Isaiah B. Scott, who served from 1893 until 1896; with his election he changed the institutions policy regarding the race of faculty and staff. [9] In 1896, Scott became editor of the Southwest Christian Advocate, and Matthew Winfred Dogan replaced him as the president, a role he maintained until 1942. [9]

In 1906 a fire destroyed five of the eleven buildings on campus, but they were rebuilt. [9] In 1907, the president’s home and a library on campus were built by students, after president Dogan was able to secure a Carnegie Foundation grant. [9] The library was open to the entire community of Marshall, and it was the only library until 1974. [9] By 1929, the institution no longer supported a high school. [9] During that same year, the university renamed itself as Wiley College.

Civil Rights Movement

Wiley, along with Bishop College, was instrumental in the Civil Rights movement in Texas. Wiley and Bishop students launched the first sit-ins in Texas in the rotunda of the Old Harrison County Courthouse to protest segregation in public facilities.[ citation needed ]

James Farmer, son of James L. Farmer, Sr., graduated from Wiley and became one of the "Big Four" of the Civil Rights Movement. Together with Roy Wilkins, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Whitney M. Young Jr., James Farmer helped organize the first sit-ins and Freedom Rides in the United States. [11] [12]

Presidents

Debate team

Tony Scherman's article about the Wiley College debate team for the 1997 Spring issue of American Legacy sparked a renewed interest in its history. [17] The success of the 1935 Wiley College debate team, coached by professor and poet Melvin Tolson, was the subject of a 2005 AMS Pictures documentary, The Great Debaters, The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College, which received heavy play around Texas, followed by the 2007 dramatic movie, The Great Debaters , directed by and starring Denzel Washington. In 1935, the Wiley College debate team defeated the reigning national debate champion, the University of Southern California (depicted as Harvard University in The Great Debaters).

In 2007, Denzel Washington announced a donation of $1 million to Wiley so the team could be re-established. [18] [19] The following year, The Great Debaters movie debuted, starring Washington; the college's debate team has taken this name, too.

In 2014, the 23-person team won 1st place at the Pi Kappa Delta Comprehensive National Tournament. This was the largest Pi Kappa Delta Tournament in their 101-year history. This was the first national speech and debate title won by an HBCU. Three years later, the college led the establishment of the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League. [20] In 2018, Wiley hosted the first HBCU National Speech and Debate League Tournament. [21]

Athletics

Wiley Wildcats men's basketball WileyUniversityvsNAU111123-16.jpg
Wiley Wildcats men's basketball

The Wiley athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The college is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC), formerly known as the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC), since the 2022–23 academic year. [22] The Wildcats previously competed in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) from 1998–99 to 2021–22. They were also a founding member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) from 1920–21 to 1967–68, which is currently an NCAA Division I FCS athletic conference.

Wiley competes in ten intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer and track & field. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, track & field and volleyball. Wiley the Wildcat is the mascot. Former sports included cheerleading.

On January 20, 2022, Wiley received an invitation to join the GCAC, along with Oakwood University (from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA)) and the return of Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO), effective beginning in July 2022. [22] The GCAC is an athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA.

Notable people

Notable faculty

NameDepartmentNotabilityReference
Melvin B. Tolson EnglishNoted poet and English professor [23]
James L. Farmer, Sr. First black Texan to earn a PhD, also a professor at Wiley
Fred T. Long AthleticsAthletic director and head football coach [24]
Harry Long BiologyHead of biology department and asst. football coach [25]
Anderson Delano Macklin Fine artVisual artist, professor, art historian, and author [26]
Reuben Shannon Lovinggood Latin and Greek coursesClassical scholar and former president of Samuel Huston College (now known as Huston-Tillotson University) [27]

Notable alumni

NameClass yearNotabilityReference(s)
R. E. Brown1899Organized the first male quartet, first brass band, first football team at Wiley. Later started the first teacher-training school for African Americans in Louisiana. [28]
Thelma Dewitty 1941First African American to teach in the Seattle Public Schools [29]
James Farmer 1938U.S. civil rights leader [30]
Richard E. Holmes Physician, transferred to Mississippi State University after sophomore year at Wiley to be the first African American to matriculate at MSU [31]
Conrad O. Johnson Music educator [32]
Opal Lee Activist, "Grandmother of Juneteenth" [33]
Mike Lewis 1980NFL
L. D. Livingston Negro league baseball outfielder [34]
Ernest Lyon Minister, former United States Ambassador to Liberia, and founder of the Maryland Industrial and Agricultural Institute for Colored Youths.
Henry Cecil McBay Chemist, college professor
Willie Pearson Jr 1968Sociologist, college professor, author
Oliver Randolph 1904New Jersey lawyer, politician, and civil rights advocate [35]
C. O. Simpkins, Sr. Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1992-1996; retired Shreveport dentist [36]
Bill Spiller African-American golfer who challenged the segregationist policies of the PGA [37]
Heman Marion Sweatt Plaintiff in U.S. Supreme Court case, Sweatt v. Painter (1950); helped to found Texas Southern University
Lee Wilder Thomas Prominent African-American businessman in the oil industry
Lois Towles 1933Internationally renowned concert pianist. [38]
Henrietta Bell Wells First female member of the debate team subject of the 2007 movie, "The Great Debaters" [39]
James Wheaton 1945Actor, director, educator [40]
Richard Williams Jazz trumpeter

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcorn State University</span> Historically black public college in Lorman, Mississippi, US

Alcorn State University is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langston University</span> Historically Black college in Langston, Oklahoma, US

Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state and the westernmost four-year public HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Langston is a rural setting 10 miles (16 km) east of Guthrie. The University also serves an urban mission, with University Centers in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morehouse College</span> Private college in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

Morehouse College is a private historically Black, men's, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Anchored by its main campus of 61 acres (25 ha) near Downtown Atlanta, the college has a variety of residential dorms and academic buildings east of Ashview Heights. Along with Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and the Morehouse School of Medicine, the college is a member of the Atlanta University Center consortium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melvin B. Tolson</span> American poet, educator and politician (1898–1966)

Melvin Beaunorus Tolson was an American poet, educator, columnist, and politician. As a poet, he was influenced both by Modernism and the language and experiences of African Americans, and he was deeply influenced by his study of the Harlem Renaissance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Southern University</span> Historically black university in Houston, Texas

Texas Southern University is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Bishop College was a historically black college, founded in Marshall, Texas, United States, in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. It was intended to serve students in east Texas, where the majority of the black population lived at the time. In 1961 the administration moved the college into Dallas, Texas. It closed in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dillard University</span> Private college in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring Hill College</span> Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama, US

Spring Hill College is a private Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the South, is the fifth-oldest Catholic college in the United States, and is the third-oldest member of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)</span> Historically black university near Oxford, Pennsylvania, US

Lincoln University (LU) is a public state-related historically black university (HBCU) near Oxford, Pennsylvania. Founded as the private Ashmun Institute in 1854, it has been a public institution since 1972 and is the second HBCU in the state, after Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Lincoln is also recognized as the first college-degree granting HBCU in the country. Its main campus is located on 422 acres (170.8 ha) near the town of Oxford in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The university has a second location in the University City area of Philadelphia. Lincoln University provides undergraduate and graduate coursework to approximately 2,000 students. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern University</span> Historically black college in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US

Southern University and A&M College is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and the flagship institution of the Southern University System. Its campus encompasses 512 acres, with an agricultural experimental station on an additional 372-acre site, five miles north of the main campus on Scott's Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section of Baton Rouge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Quinn College</span> Historically black Methodist college in Dallas, Texas

Paul Quinn College (PQC) is a private historically black Methodist college in Dallas, Texas. The college is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). It is the oldest historically black college west of the Mississippi River and the nation's first urban work college.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakwood University</span> Seventh-day Adventist historically black university in Huntsville, Alabama, US

Oakwood University is a private, historically black Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama. It is the only HBCU owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prairie View A&M University</span> Historically black university in Prairie View, Texas

Prairie View A&M University is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher learning in the state. It offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master's degrees and four doctoral degree programs through eight colleges and the School of Architecture. PVAMU is the largest HBCU in the state of Texas and the third largest HBCU in the United States. PVAMU is a member of the Texas A&M University System and Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Waters University</span> Private historically Black college in Jacksonville, Florida

Edward Waters University is a private Christian historically Black university in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1866 by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church as a school to educate freedmen and their children. It was the first independent institution of higher education and the first historically black college in the State of Florida. It continues to be affiliated with the AME Church and is a member of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern University at New Orleans</span> Historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana, US

Southern University at New Orleans is a public historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the Southern University System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philander Smith University</span> Historially Black university in Little Rock, Arkansas, US

Philander Smith University is a private historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). Philander Smith College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

<i>The Great Debaters</i> 2007 film by Denzel Washington

The Great Debaters is a 2007 American historical drama film directed by Denzel Washington from a screenplay by Robert Eisele and based on a 1997 article for American Legacy by Tony Scherman. The film follows the trials and tribulations of the Wiley College debate team in 1935 Texas. It stars Washington, Forest Whitaker, Denzel Whitaker, Kimberly Elise, Nate Parker, Gina Ravera, Jermaine Williams, and Jurnee Smollett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rust College</span> Historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi, US

Rust College is a private historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Founded in 1866, it is the second-oldest private college in the state. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it is one of ten historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) founded before 1868 that are still operating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HBCU Athletic Conference</span>

The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC), formerly known as the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, is a college athletic conference made up entirely of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas as well as the U.S. territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrietta Bell Wells</span> American debater and social worker (1912–2008)

Henrietta Bell Wells was the first female member of the debate team at historically black Wiley College in Texas. She was born Henrietta Pauline Bell on the banks of Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas to a West Indian single mother.

References

  1. "Members of CIC: Texas". cic.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
  2. "Wiley College (1873- ) - The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". 20 November 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  3. "Wiley College | A Place Where Every Student Can Succeed". Archived from the original on 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  4. "Index of /". Archived from the original on 1998-06-26. Retrieved 2022-07-24.
  5. "Wiley College's Great Debaters | Humanities Texas".
  6. "Wiley College Announces Name Change as Part of Homecoming Festivities". KSLA-TV.
  7. "Wiley College - Academic Affairs". www.wileyc.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-08-31.
  8. "Wiley University - Graduate Program and Leadership Studies". www.wileyc.edu.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Wiley College". Texas State Historical Association. Texas State Historical Association . Retrieved 2023-10-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Brooks, F. Erik; Starks, Glenn L. (2011-09-13). Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Encyclopedia. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 62–63. ISBN   978-0-313-39416-4.
  11. http://www.core-online.org/History/james_farmer_bio.ht [ dead link ]
  12. "James Farmer Memorial Page" . Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  13. Kirby, Bill (2020). "Oct. 11, 1974: Dr. Julius Scott was great for college and community". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  14. "Haywood Strickland Leaving Wiley College in Good Hands". Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  15. "Wiley president to retire". Longview News-Journal. 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  16. Richardson, Robin Y. (2019-03-16). "Wiley College celebrates installation of 17th president". Marshall News Messenger. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  17. "BlackNews.com – American Legacy Magazine's Story: The Great Debaters, Turns from Pages to the Big Screen Directed By and Starring Denzel Washington and Produced By Oprah Winfrey". Archived from the original on 2008-06-30. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  18. "Wiley College" . Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  19. Wiley College – A Place Where Every Student Can Succeed, Dallas News
  20. "Wiley College - Wiley College to create HBCU Speech and Debate League". www.wileyc.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06.
  21. "Wiley College - Wiley College kicks off first-ever HBCU National Speech and Debate Championship Tournament!". www.wileyc.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-01-26.
  22. 1 2 "GCAC Extends Membership To Oakwood University, Wiley College, Southern University at New Orleans". January 20, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  23. "Marshall Texas Directory". 1946. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  24. The Decatur Review Long obituary March 24, 1966 page 13
  25. The Chicago Defender "Wiley Coach Drops Dead in Football Classic" December 15, 1945 pages 1 & 5 and The Chicago Defender "Harry Long Joins Wiley Grid Staff" July 13, 1929 page 9
  26. Who's Who in the South and Southwest. Marquis Who's Who. 1976. p. 478. ISBN   978-0-8379-0815-1.
  27. Ronnick, Michele Valerie. "Lovinggood, Reuben Shannon". Database of Classical Scholars, Rutgers University . Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  28. "Wiley Graduate of 1899 to be Honored with Citation". The Wiley Reporter. Marshall, Texas: Wiley College. May 1953. p. 1. Dr. Brown, the oldest living graduate of Wiley, entered the institution on his sixteenth birthday and finished in the class of 1899 at the age of twenty-four.
  29. Mary T. Henry, Dewitty, Thelma (1912–1977) Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine , HistoryLink, November 10, 1998. Accessed online September 30, 2008.
  30. "James Farmer Biography: Greensboro Voices" . Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  31. Hearn, Phil. "Richard Holmes became MSU's first black student 40 years ago". Mississippi State University. Retrieved 1 November 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  32. "Conrad O. Johnson: Hall of Fame profile" . Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  33. "16 Apr 1990, 16 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  34. Lewis, Bert (May 19, 1928). "Wiley Downs Bishop, 6-4; Livingston Stars" [ permanent dead link ]. The Chicago Defender. p. 9. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  35. "Oliver Randolph". The New York Times . 1951-09-03. p. 13. Retrieved 2016-09-21.
  36. "C. O. Simpkins, Sr.: Civil Rights Champion". cosimpkins.com. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  37. "One man's mission". ESPN.com. 28 January 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  38. Dogan Teycer, Lucile (May 1953). "Lois Towles in Wiley Concert". The Wiley Reporter. Marshall, Texas: Wiley College. p. 1. Students and friends of Wiley were thrilled by the superb concert of the internationally famous pianist, Lois Towles.
  39. Martin, Douglas (March 12, 2008). "Henrietta Bell Wells female member of Wiley College debate team". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  40. James Wheaton at IMDb