Maryville College
Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of the 50 oldest colleges in the United States and the 12th-oldest institution in the South. It is associated with the Presbyterian Church and enrolls about 1,100 students. Maryville College's nickname is the Fighting Scots. The sports teams compete in NCAA Division III athletics in the USA South Athletic Conference.
Academics
As a liberal arts school, the college promotes a well-rounded education. The school requires numerous general education courses to achieve this. The courses are taken through the conclusion of the student's education, contributing to the graduating student's becoming knowledgeable in a number of fields.Maryville College is one of the few colleges in the nation that requires graduating students to complete a comprehensive exam in their major and conduct an extensive senior thesis.
History
Founding
Maryville College was founded as the Southern and Western Theological Seminary in 1819 by Isaac L. Anderson, a Presbyterian minister. Anderson had founded a school, Union Academy, in nearby Knox County, before becoming minister at New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville. He expressed to his fellow clergy the need for more ministers in the community, including a request to the Home Missionary Society and an appeal to divinity students at Princeton University in 1819. The new seminary was intended to help fill this need for ministers. It opened with a class of five men, and the new school was adopted by the Synod of Tennessee and formally named the Southern and Western Theological Seminary in October 1819.Integration
In 2004, Maryville College was recognized by the Race Relations Center of East Tennessee for its history of "contributing to improving the quality of life for all in East Tennessee". Maryville College was racially integrated from its earliest days. An ex-slave named George Erskine studied there in 1819, sponsored by the Manumission Society of Tennessee. Erskine went on to preach during the 1820s and was formally ordained by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1829.Maryville College was closed during the Civil War, but, upon reopening, it again admitted students regardless of race, assisted by the Freedmen's Bureau.
When the State of Tennessee forced Maryville College to segregate in 1901, the College gave $25,000—a little more than a tenth of its endowment at the time—to Swift Memorial Institute, the college's sister school. Swift was founded by William Henderson Franklin, the first African American to graduate from Maryville College. His institute educated black students during the era of imposed segregation.
After the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, Maryville College immediately re-enrolled African Americans.
In 1875, Maryville College conferred the first college degree to a woman in the state of Tennessee. The recipient was Mary T. Wilson, the older sister of Samuel T. Wilson, who later served as president of the college from 1901 until 1930.
Campus
Maryville College is located in the City of Maryville, Blount County, Tennessee. Its current campus was established in 1869 on a that was then on the city's outskirts. Several campus buildings were completed over the next five decades, with financial help from major institutions and philanthropists. The college's historic buildings comprise the Maryville College Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982; Anderson Hall is also separately listed on the National Register.Buildings on campus
- Anderson Hall: The oldest building on campus, Anderson Hall houses the Humanities and Education departments. Donations for its construction came from the Freedmen's Bureau and philanthropists William Thaw, a Pittsburgh industrialist, and John C. Baldwin of New York.
- Thaw Hall: Thaw Hall was completed in 1923 with donations from Mary Thaw of Pittsburgh. It functions as the campus library, as well as housing the Academic Support Center, Social Sciences, and Environmental Studies departments.
- Cooper Athletics Center: This building currently houses the Athletics department, as well as the Cooper Success Center.
- Fayerweather Hall: Originally a science building, this building is named for Daniel B. Fayerweather of New York, who provided funds for its construction. It was designed by Baumann Brothers of Knoxville and completed in 1898. Fayerweather now houses most of the administrative offices of Maryville College, as well as the AJB Financial Aid office.
- Bartlett Hall: Built by Kin Takahashi and many other students, this building houses the offices of Student Development, Student Involvement, Resident Life, Center for Calling and Careers, The Learning center, Security, the book store, the Post Office, Multicultural Center, and Isaac's Cafe.
- Pearsons Hall: This building houses the main dining hall and two floors of residential housing.
- Sutton Science Center: The building houses the departments of Math, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, American Sign Language, and Deaf Studies.
- Clayton Center for the Arts: This building is the newest building at MC. It houses the music department and has live acts, plays, and local and national productions.
- Willard House: This building houses the office of Advancement.
- The House in the Woods: This building is used for the meeting space at MC. This building was previously used to house the campus minister.
- Alexander House: This building houses some Advancement offices, Church Relations, Youth Leadership Blount, and .
- Crawford House: This building houses , LLC.
- Ruby Tuesday Lodge: Since 1997, this building has been used as a private corporate retreat for the company Ruby Tuesday.
- Alumni Gym: This building is used to house campus events.
- Physical Plant: This is where all campus maintenance offices are located.
- Center for Campus Ministry: This building houses the campus chapel and is the office of the campus Minister, Volunteer relations, and several other "volunteer" related officers.
Campus housing
- Gamble Hall: All male; typically freshman housing. Rooms are available as both doubles and singles. Also features communal bathrooms.
- Davis Hall: All female; typically freshman housing. Rooms are available as both doubles and singles. Also features communal bathrooms.
- Copeland Hall: Co-ed; typically freshman housing. Rooms are available as both doubles and singles. Also features communal bathrooms.
- Pearsons Hall: renovated for residential use on the second level in 2015.
- Lloyd Hall: Primarily upper class, Lloyd Hall offers suite-style living. These rooms are composed of a living room, two bathrooms, and either two doubles or a double and two singles. Some rooms also contain kitchens.
- Carnegie Hall: Upper class living that includes suites in which two room share a kitchen and bathroom as well as single rooms in which a bathroom is shared by three residents.
- Beeson Village: A complex of primarily upper class residences. Beeson Village offers apartment style living and is one of the newer campus living accommodations.
- Court Street Apartments: Located just off campus, Court Street Apartments offer single bedroom apartments shared by two students.
- Gibson Hall: The newest residence hall at Maryville College, which offers suite style living almost identical to that of Lloyd Hall. Gibson Hall is a "wellness hall", which means that students must refrain from drinking, smoking, and drug use within the building.
Campus improvement plan
In 2010 Maryville College finished the construction of the Clayton Center for the Arts. This new CCA building is home to a large theatre, a flex theatre, and also classrooms and offices for professors of Maryville College. There are also plans to renovate Anderson Hall beginning June 2013. The renovations will focus on the interior and are estimated to be completed by August 2014.Features of the college
The college's heating system started as an experiment by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Department of Energy and the College in 1982. Coinciding with the World's Fair in Knoxville, the experiment tested the efficiency of burning wood waste as an energy source. Tours of the plant and demonstrations were held at the College.The college's oldest building, Anderson Hall, built in 1870, is currently used as a classroom building. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Crawford House is LEED Gold certified, and it is the oldest of 5 existing buildings to be made so in Tennessee.
Student organizations
- Alpha Psi Omega
- Alternative Fall Break
- Alternative Spring Break
- American Chemical Society
- Association for Computing Machinery
- Beta Beta Beta
- Biology Club
- Black Student Association
- Campus Commuters and Friends
- Cheerleading
- Chilhowean
- Circle K
- College Democrats
- College Republicans
- Craftivists
- Culinary Club
- Deutsche AG
- Entrepreneurship Club
- Environmental Action Team
- Erskine Tutors
- Face AIDS
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes
- Global Citizenship Organization
- GSA
- Habitat for Humanity
- Highland Leadership Program
- History Society/Phi Alpha Theta
- Humans v. Zombies
- Impressions
- Intervarsity Christian Fellowship
- Intramural Sports
- Japanese Club
- Judicial Board
- Latino Student Alliance
- MC Badminton Club
- MC Dance Ensemble
- MC Equestrian Team
- MC Gamers
- MC Literacy Corps
- MC Scots Pep Band
- Model UN
- Mountain Challenge
- Nonprofit Leadership Alliance
- Omicron Delta Kappa
- Peace & World Concerns
- Peer Mentors
- Philosophy Club
- Progressive Christian Community
- Psi Chi
- Residence Hall Association
- Scotties Dance Team
- Sigma Lambda Kappa
- Sigma Tau Delta
- Sisters in Spirit
- Student Government Association
- Student Programming Board
- Ultimate Club
- Up 'Til Dawn
- Voices of Praise
Athletics
Weekend programs
The East Tennessee Japanese School, a weekend Japanese education program, holds its classes at the college.Notable alumni
- Frank Moore Cross, a Professor Emeritus of the Harvard Divinity School, notable for both his work in the interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as his analysis of the Deuteronomistic History.
- Edwin Cunningham, United States Consul General in Shanghai
- Bryant Cureton, 12th President of Elmhurst College.
- Donald West Harward, President of Bates College.
- Tony Ierulli, College football coach at Bowling Green State University, University of Missouri, Salem University, Susquehanna University, Samford University, Shippensburg University, Maryville College, Limestone College, Carson-Newman University.
- Dorothy Andrews Elston Kabis, The 33rd Treasurer of the United States, appointed by President Richard Nixon.
- Sen Katayama, co-founder of Japanese Communist Party
- Roy Kramer, former Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference.
- Beulah Duggan Linn, Sevier County, Tennessee Historian
- David W. Marston, attorney and author
- Katherine O. Musgrave, Professor Emerita of food and nutrition, University of Maine
- Wiley Blount Rutledge, Associate Justice of United States Supreme Court from 1943–1949.
- Tom Saffell, Major League Baseball player from 1949 to 1959.
- Richard B. Sellars, Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson.
- Kirtanananda Swami, prominent guru in the Hare Krishna movement
- Roy Arthur Taylor, U.S. Representative from North Carolina, 1960–1977
- George Verwer, Evangelist and founder of Operation Mobilisation
- Ron Wolf, former General Manager of the NFL's Green Bay Packers